Zombie Heartbreaker: Bonus Content
by Gamerowak
Summary: Since the main story will revolve around Larry Koopa, this "Fanfic" will contain some general informations about it as well as chapters that will tell the story of certain survivors in context in which Larry is not here to see or hear.
1. Introduction

**ZOMBIE HEARTBREAKER: BONUS CONTENT**

 **Introduction**

Welcome to the bonus content, reader. As you will read the fanfic, you will notice that the story revolves around a single character, Larry Koopa. However, there are many things happening where Larry is not there to see. This "fanfic" will tell the stories of some characters that have survived the Big Day Incident. This first "chapter" will have a table of contents but I cannot write the chapters' names or it will spoil the characters that have survived. Also, to make sure that you do not spoil yourself too soon once the fanfic will have specific chapters completed, I will suggest here until which chapter you must read from the main fanfic before reading a specific chapter in the bonus content:

(Chapter 1) Introduction: Can be read anytime;

(Chapter 2) First koopa character that survived: To read after Chapter 1-5 (Will be written once Act 2 is done)

(Chapter 3) The culprit behind the incident: To read after Chapter 1-5 (Will be written once Act 3 is done)

(Chapter 4) The culprit's plan: To read after Chapter 4-4 (Will be written once Act 4 is done)

(Chapter 5) Second koopa character that survived: To read after Chapter 4-4 (Will be written once Act 5 is done)

(Chapter 6) The culprit's secret weapon: To read after Chapter 6-4 (Will be written once act 6 is done)

(Chapter 7) Third koopa character that survived: To read after chapter 7-4 (Will be written once act 7 is done)

(Chapter 8) Meanwhile in the finale: To read after chapter 8-? (I am unsure how many chapters the last act will have. It will depend on many things that you will notice will happen in the main fanfic. It will be written once Act 8 is done)

(Chapter 9) Inspirations and Special thanks: To read after Epilogue (The fanfic will contain many Easter eggs and references all over the main fanfic and might spoil some things that will happen. It will be written once the epilogue is done.)

Additional information about the story:

Different text styles will be used to represent different types of events:

"Normal" text will be used to tell the current story;

"CAPITALS" will be used for someone shouting really loud;

" _Italic_ " text will be used for Larry's memories;

" **Bold** " text will be used mainly for chapter titles. It will also be used when someone sings but its presence will be very few in the story;

" **BOLD CAPITALS** " will be used to tell an act's title or the end of an act;

" _ **Italic bold**_ " text will be used of Larry's dream. Those will start appearing in Act 2 onward.

Finally, due to the limited space to write a summary on Fanfiction, here is a complete summary of the fanfic, the one that I wanted to write but could not:

The big day has arrived. Larry Koopa cannot wait to see people coming from space to negotiate many things but will soon learn that he will not represent his Kingdom in any lands of Amarioca due to his "untrustworthiness". Instead, he is to escort the representative for Grassland and, to add insult to injury, will have to stay in a prison cell for the length of the meeting. He falls asleep and wake up in a completely different worlds: little to no signs of survivors, dry creatures everywhere and many building vandalised in desperation of finding food and water to live on. For now, he has one mission: find the other koopalings, Prince Bowser Jr. and King Bowser. As he starts his search however, he will have to do more and will end up in situations he thought he would never be in in his entire life. Join him as he gathers many people together to rebuild a world that seems to be already lost and find out who ruined it.

Have a nice reading!

PS: I know I have some spellcheck issues which is pretty ironic for me because that is my best strength in writing. I will do my best to make sure the story is not too confusing due to spelling issues or incomprehensible sentences.


	2. Paralogue 1

**Paralogue 1: Sheltered**

 **Day 0**

After he waved back at Larry, Bowser Jr kept slowly walking down the hall while playing his video game. He headed to the shelter because his father ordered him to. For the duration of the meeting, during the big day, he was to stay inside kept by an adult with the shelter being locked. Before he crossed the door to the shelter, two koopa guards were standing guard and saluted him. The child waved back naturally and proceeded to enter the shelter. The shelter had many shelves containing canned food, benches, a large box with toys in it, a first aid box and even plenty of furniture a normal house would have such as an oven and refrigerator. There was even a giant lunchbox around some of the benches for Junior and the adult that would babysit him. The prince sat on one of the benches around the lunchbox. After a few minutes, a furious Kamek entered the shelter. It was obvious that the magikoopa did not appreciate to be told that he would have to spend his day with the prince. The door closed behind him.

"I can't believe I'm ordered to watch over you while I could be assisting your father to the meeting!" He let out as he sat down on a bench far away from the prince.

The magician brought papers because he had paperwork to do. When he was not Bowser's advisor, he was revising the current situation in the Koopa Kingdom whether it was trades with other lands, military forces or technological advancements. Today, however, he had work to do at the same time as keeping an eye on the prince.

"You can consider yourself lucky, Kammy. Bowser doesn't usually let you hang around me." Junior pointed out.

"It's Kamek and I don't find that good luck at all! I AM A POWERFUL WIZARD, not a babysitter, for goodness' sake!" The magikoopa lamented.

"What's so wrong about watching over me? I thought you were used to kids after you helped papa raise the others."

"The others were at least disciplined. At your age, even Larry wasn't as bratty and arrogant as you are right now!"

The dispute went for many minutes. Junior was not really arguing with the adult. He was just teasing him. Kamek had enough and went further in the shelter to not be disturbed by Junior. The prince, on the other hand, decided to stop playing his video game and searched inside the large box. Many different kinds of toys were found inside, ranging from cars to dolls and even plushes. One toy in particular caught his attention. It was a goomba plush. He picked it up and felt something familiar. He thought about the times he spent with his siblings, mostly Larry. Without a mother, there were not many people the prince was willing to be with. It did not help that his father was very busing ruling over the Koopa Kingdom. When he started to learn to speak, some of his siblings were already old enough to leave the castle and built their life which eventually they did. He would not get visited that many times by them. Some of his, particularly Wendy and Ludwig, only visited him during holidays. Others visited him more often save for Larry and Lemmy who would stay at the castle every weekend to be with their little brother. Coincidentally, Larry also possessed a goomba plush that looked exactly like the one Junior found in the box. The prince proceeded to pick up more toys and started to play with them. A few hours passed and a clock sounded an alarm. The wizard came back to the prince.

"What's this about?" Junior curiously asked.

"It's lunchtime, Junior. Let's hope your father didn't stock the whole lunchbox with mac'n'cheese." He sighed.

The wizard opened the lunchbox. It was filled with enough food for a few days: Tuna sandwiches and vegetables were placed on the left, small boxes of macaronis stood in the right corner with a small package containing cheese. There were also a few desserts and bottles of juice in the middle that included cookies and cupcakes. Also, in case the prince would want to draw, Bowser had taken the time to put in a box of crayons with many sheets of paper.

"Oh my, tuna sandwich, my favorite." The wizard complained as he picked up two tuna sandwiches and gave one to Junior.

They ate their sandwiches. Kamek was disgusted while the child was savoring his meal. Once his sandwich done, the latter stood up and checked inside the lunchbox. He picked up a carrot. This caught Kamek's attention.

"Junior, what are you doing?" The wizard asked.

"I'm going to eat a carrot, stupid." Junior answered.

"You hate vegetables, Junior. Once you put it in your mouth, you'll just spit it out so don't bother taking a bite."

"But I wanna eat a carrot."

"Junior, don't test my patience! I know what you'll do once that carrot gets in your mouth!"

"BUT I WANNA EAT A CARROT!"

"Since when did you change your mind!? You won't be able to eat that, I know you!"

Junior did not listen to Kamek. He took a bite out of the carrot, causing the wizard to facepalm. He slowly chewed it but then stopped.

"Spit it out." Kamek ordered.

Junior did not do anything. The flavor of the carrot started flooding the inside of his mouth. It even went down his throat just to climb up to the nose. He was not just eating the carrot, he also smelt it.

"Spit it out!" The magikoopa repeated with a higher tone.

The prince managed to swallow the bite he took. Kamek was shocked. He always thought the prince would never be able to eat any vegetables all his life but he saw it and not only that but the child took another bite and another one until the carrot could no longer be seen.

"What kind of sorcery is this?" The magician whispered, disturbed by what he just witnessed.

"It's not sorcery, stupid; it's called getting used to it." Junior replied.

"Junior, you never ate vegetable! Every time someone tried to feed you vegetables, you would always throw them all over the place! You can't just decide that you like carrot like that! It doesn't work this way!"

"Well, you should've been nicer to me and actually know how to get someone to eat vegetables."

There was a brief silence. The rest of lunchtime went silent, so did the rest of the day. They did gather together again just to eat diner. Like earlier, they argued. Later in the evening, they felt tired and went to sleep. The shelter was also equipped with bunk beds to ensure that people inside would get a place to sleep.

 **Day 1**

Kamek woke up first and went to a terminal that was right next to the door. The terminal indicated that it was six in the morning so the wizard waited a few hours before checking it again. While he was waiting, he kept looking at the paperwork and made a few adjustments to better fit the people's needs later on. A few hours later, he went checking the terminal back. It was the perfect time to open the door. He opened the command input program and typed in the input to open the door. Despite having written it properly, the terminal displayed an error message indicating that the command did not exist. Kamek started trembling. He was not crazy. He knew the door opening command by heart and, to make sure that he would never forget it, he would lock himself in the shelter every day and type the command in the terminal. He knew that he wrote it perfectly. He then checked in the in-built list of command the terminal had. He noticed that the door opening one was missing. He gasped, terrified. Someone went to the terminal before him and pulled it away. It could not have been Junior because he kept an eye on him all day long yesterday. Plus, the prince did not know how to access the terminal. However, thinking about the prince made him realize that he would be stuck there for an unknown amount of time. He then anxiously took the radio and called for anyone. He waited seconds, then minutes, but no one answered. What was going on out there? Why did no one answer him? The two guards should have opened the door but there was no answer. Kamek would fire those two guys once he gets out of the shelter. He slowly turned his head toward the sleeping child and became horrified. At this exact moment, Junior woke up. Kamek got even more terrified.

"What's wrong, Kammy?" Junior asked as he rubbed his fists on his eyes.

Kamek screamd in terror. He ran toward the shelves and tipped them all. With the canned food, he used his magic wand and built a small fort and hid inside. Junior was excited to see that the royal advisor was acting like a child with his fort and all those cans. He hopped, approaching the fort.

"Cool, are we going to play games!?" The child cheerfully asked.

"JUNIOR' WE'RE STUCK!" Kamek screamed out loud.

"What do you mean?"

"IT MEANS WHAT IT MEANS! WE'RE LOCKED IN FOR I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG AND NO ONE'S OUTSIDE TO OPEN THE DOOR!"

"But why did you hide among the cans?"

"BECAUSE I'LL HAVE TO PROPABLY SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH YOU!"

The prince was disappointed. He thought that he would finally get someone to play with today but it turned out that Kamek did not want to. What a killjoy that old man was, that was surely what the prince was thinking right now. He instead went to the lunchbox and took some macaronis and cheese from it and went to the oven. Since he was too small to reach the stoves, he had to push one of the benches to climb on the stove. Kamek watched him. He did not want to interfere right now. Maybe Junior was just placing the ingredients in the stoves to have them ready for when Kamek would make diner. Contrary to his belief, the prince turned them on.

"Junior, what are you doing?" The magician asked.

"I'm going to make some mac'n'chesse, stupid." Junior replied.

"Junior, you're going to get yourself hurt! So jump down the oven and eat a sandwich instead."

"I don't wanna eat a sandwich."

"JUNIOR, YOU'RE TOO YOUNG TO COOK! WE'LL EAT MACARONIS LATER… Once I get over my fears."

Junior did not listen. He took some pot and started making some mac'n'cheese. After many minutes, he turned the stoves off and went looking for a bowl. He served himself with some of his meal and sat down on the bench to eat his mac'n'cheese. Kamek slowly left his can fort to see what the mac'n'cheese looked like. He was surprised to see that the prince did not burn it. In fact, it looked like it was quite delicious. He left his fort and went to the pot full of mac'n'cheese. He looked at the child.

"Can I serve myself?" He asked.

"No, you don't want that right now. Go take a tuna sandwich." Junior rudely answered.

"But it looks very tasty."

The prince did not reply.

"Fine then, I'll eat a sandwich." The magician sighed.

They started eating.

"Junior, where did you learn to cook? I don't recall me or your father having you taught that." Kamek brought up.

"I learned from them." The prince simply answered.

"What do you mean by them?"

"Don't you know who I'm talking about? I never thought you were that ignorant and uncaring."

"You mean your siblings? Junior, they're not actually your siblings."

"THEY ARE!"

The prince threw his empty bowl on the floor, breaking it into pieces. The magician noticed that the prince was crying.

"Don't you love them?" Junior cried.

"It's hard for me to get hooked on something that doesn't really belong to me?" The magikoopa said.

"Are you saying that we're just objects to you!?"

"Junior, that's not what I..."

"YOU'RE HORRIBLE!"

It was a poor choice of word from Kamek. It was not that he did not like the koopalings. In fact, he loved them but he could not admit it publicly in fear that the truth that he and Bowser kept for all those years would be uncovered. The child took the pot on the stoves and pulled the lunchbox in a corner. He moved some benches to make a wall around his pot and the lunchbox.

"This is my personal space. Don't go anywhere near me, or I'll throw you… Erm… Something!" He warned.

Kamek lowered his head and went back to his little fort. More hours have passed. It must have been near or even past lunchtime as Kamek became hungry again. Since the prince kept the lunchbox to himself, Kamek had no choice but to open one of the cans. He picked up a can of green beans and ate its content without hesitation. He then looked at Junior just to see that he was doing absolutely nothing. The rest of the day went the same way until they went to sleep.

 **Day 2**

Junior woke up earlier than Kamek this day and slowly walked toward the fort. Today, he wanted to eat something besides tuna sandwiches and mac'n'cheese. Though those were his favorite meals, he kind of got tired of them quickly in a few days. The magikoopa was still sleeping, without his glasses.

"Kammy, can I take one of those cans?" He whispered.

The magician slowly woke up and put his glasses on. He saw him. He turned his head on the opposite direction. He did not answer Junior's question.

"I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I'm sure you do like my siblings and you got upset because I tend to bother you. Please, tell me something." The prince apologised.

"I envy them." Kamek whispered.

"What is envy? Who are them?"

"It's when you're jealous of someone."

"Okay but who are you jealous of?"

"Your siblings."

"Why are you jealous of them?"

The magician did not answer right away. He waited for at least a minute.

"Kammy?" Junior said.

"Remember when you told me that Bowser doesn't let me around you? You were right about that. I never got to raise you at all like I raised your siblings. They however could go near you and Bowser even encouraged them to not let me near you." The magikoopa explained.

"But why would they do that? Why would papa not want you to help him?"

Kamek stood up and went to sit on a bench. Junior sat next to him.

"Can you keep a secret?" Kamek simply asked.

Junior was confused but he nodded. Though it might not be part of what they were talking about, he was curious to know one of Kamek's deep secrets.

"By law, I would be your grandfather. I raised your father a long time ago but not properly and because of that he hates me. He let me help him raise your siblings because it was too much for him. Once you were born, he told me directly to not interfere in raising you." Kamek confessed.

"But why would he put us together here?"

"I'm just meant to keep an eye on you, Junior, nothing else."

There was a moment of silence until Junior broke it.

"Kammy, I doubt that papa would put us two alone. If that was the case, he would instead choose someone else. I think he wants to see if you changed. So, do you think you can ask him to give you a second chance?"

"Junior, I only had one chance when I raised him. There's no way he'll give me another chance."

The child began to cry and hugged him.

"Junior, don't hug me."

"Kammy, please don't be so hopeless. Papa will give you another chance if you just ask him."

"Didn't your hear me? It's too late."

"It's never too late, Kammy. You can always raise me. Do you want to play with me?"

Yes, it was indeed never too late. If Kamek could raise Junior properly, it would prove his worthiness of a second chance. The magician nodded. They played with the toys in the large box. Kamek shredded a tear. For all Junior's life, the royal advisor never got to anything with him. He treasured this moment more than anything else. Their playtime was interrupted when a loud noise came from the door. Junior got scared and hid behind the magician. The latter went to the speaker and spoke into it. Someone was outside but could not use the radio. It was broken. Luckily, the person on the other side knew the Morse code. Kamek understand it, not only that but he also figured that it was Larry. Only he would know such language since he used to work as a spy for the kingdom. The magikoopa ordered the outsider to open the door. They were both relieved to know they would not spend another entire day in the shelter. A few minutes later, the handle started slowly moving. Kamek looked at Junior.

"Remember, no one must know something ever happened between us two. I'll go directly tell Bowser to give me another chance." Kamek ordered.

The handle stopped moving and the door slowly opened.


	3. Paralogue 2

**Paralogue 2: A discreet secret**

After Larry left him alone, Kraig left the Koopa Castle. He was still shaken by the punk. It might have been embarrassing because he is very big compared to the koopaling but he preferred words over violence. Though, he was more afraid that he would have to report to his boss that he could not meet his contacts. None of the dry creatures attacked him on sigh. He was coated in a special product that repulsed the monsters. He pulled a radio out of his labcoat and called for pickup. After using his radio, he slowly started vanishing into a ball of light blue energy and disappeared as the orb exploded.

He found himself inside a metallic room that served as a teleportation room. He came out of one of the teleportation spots inside the room and went to speak with a reptile-insect alien that was sat down at a table to file in all the entrances and exits via teleportation.

"Good afternoon, Doctor Kraig, how was your first day on the Mario World?" The alien greeted

"Though I was able to do what the boss asked me, I wasn't able to do my job properly. I couldn't meet any of the patients." Kraig answered.

"Let's hope it's not as bad as the failed attack on Sealand."

"A failed attack? What happened?"

"The guy that was assigned to release the bio-chemical weapons in Sealand didn't completely do his job and he's hiding somewhere in the region."

The crocodile nodded and proceeded through a corridor. He was almost as tall as the corridor itself while taking half of its width. Sometimes, he even had to move into another room to let some chariots pass by. Faint chants accompanied by a symphony echoed through the corridors and they became louder as Kraig kept walking. The scientist eventually reached the source of all the chants. He paused for a moment. He knew what lied beyond that door. He took a deep breath and opened the door. He entered a very spacious room that would usually be used by the boss to give speeches to its troops. The chants and symphony were at their clearest and loudest. This time, however, an alien, this one looking much different from anything else, was standing behind a podium, conducting a choral with an orchestra. This alien was some sort of a purple pterodactyl humanoid wearing an armor that only covered his body. He stared at the crowd with his piercing golden eyes as his forked tail danced to the music's rhythm. He was playing a symphony, one of pride and arrogance. The scientist waited after the conductor to finish his performance. He knew too well what would happen if he ever interrupted the conductor while he was in the middle of something. The conductor concluded his symphony by slamming his arms on the podium. Everyone went quiet as the sound echoed through the vast room.

"Well, you all did great, crew. See you tomorrow for another performance!" The conductor proudly thanked his team.

Everyone left the room with the exception of Kraig and the conductor. Despite a flawless performance from his team, the latter quickly lost his good mood as he slowly turned his head toward the scientist, still holding to the podium.

"Well, well, if it isn't the killjoy." He coldly said.

Kraig stood there paralyzed by the pterodactyl's gaze but mustered his courage and went to him.

"I have some news about your…" The scientist started.

"In my office, now!" The conductor abruptly interrupted him.

They walked toward a door on the opposite side of where Kraig came from.

"Doctor Kraig, I have to say you have an unhealthy tendency to get in my way. Do not test my patient. I'm not a patient person, you know. I can decide to fry you on the spot right away. I hope you have some good news to bring me. I have to bloody murder a guy so don't give me another one on my criminal record." The conductor ranted.

Kraig said nothing yet in fear to be torn apart. They kept walking for a minute until they reached a double door guarded by an alien. The alien saluted both of them and moved aside to let them enter the room. Kraig stopped walking as soon as he passed the door while the conductor kept walking to a window that gave him an impressive view of the Mario World. They were inside a spaceship that was orbiting around the planet.

"Close the door and lock it." The conductor ordered.

The crocodile followed his order. He turned back that at his boss who…

"Big brother! I am glad to see you safe and sound!"

The pterodactyl jumped at him giving him a big hug. Kraig hugged him back. His boss was half his height so either he had to kneel down or his little brother had to jump to reach him. They had been keeping their true relationship a secret to the crew of the ship since they first joined it. The little brother jumped down and walked toward a kitchen on the right of the office.

"Take a seat, bro. I'll make us some drinks." The little brother said.

Kraig went to a living to the left of the office and sat down on a black leather sofa. His little brother joined him holding two pink cocktails that he gave one of them to Kraig and sat down on an armchair facing his big brother.

"So, how was your first day on the field? Don't take it too personal if I scold you in public for having made a vaccine against my biochemical weapon. That's one more way to conceal our tie to the public. You were right to develop it. I was kinda afraid the weapon would backfire at us. You're always great at fixing my huge mistakes." The little brother said.

"It went so-so. I was able to study the effects of your bio-chemical weapon but I couldn't meet my contacts. Here's my report on the effects of your weapon."

Kriag took a notebook out of his labcoat and gave it to his brother who read the first pages. The rest of the notebook was blank. They would certainly be filled with words later on but for now Riley would have to wait to have more information.

"I see. It's great to hear that my weapon works as intended after hearing that someone refused to do his entire job down there. Yeah, I'll have to go on the planet to hunt down a deserter and I'm very furious because, if someone down there gets to interrogate him, they'll probably be able to track us up here. Anyway, tell me about your vaccine. Does it work?"

"I couldn't confirm it. I didn't find my contacts down there who were the Koopa king, his son and his advisor. I instead found another individual and…"

Kraig started trembling.

"What's wrong, bro? Did he do something to you?"

"He almost made me spill the beans. He was so aggressive toward me that I got scared but he eventually let me go but not before he could get some information on me."

"What kind of information did you tell him?"

"I had to tell him my name and that I created a vaccine against a virus that started spreading across the universe. I however lied to him by telling him that I was from the Space Federation."

"Excellent, you managed to get him off you on first sight."

"Not really, he knows that I'm still hiding things from him."

"Crud, that's one tenacious guy we got there. What does he look like?"

"He's some kind of cat-faced turtle with a punk look judging by his hairstyle and his star tattoo on the head but he was wearing a very stylish outfit."

"Was it that stylish?" Riley curiously asked.

"I'm telling you, Riley. He was wearing a black untucked jacket with a light blue tie to match his hair and purple pants."

"Goodness! That's one fancy punk we have there! I'll take a look on the computer to find a match and I'll pay him a visit whenever I decide to hunt down the deserter. Don't worry, bro. He won't remain unpunished. I'll shake him up a little bit."

Riley stood up and went searching for a laptop. He typed in the information Kraig told him about the individual. He used a special program linked to the ship's scanner. This scanner would analyse an entire planet and record a full database on in such as its history, its fauna and flora, and its climate. Very few ships were equipped with a history module for the scanner. They stole it a few years ago to save them from visiting empty planets.

"Alright, I entered all the information you told me about that and… Bang! I got one matching result. That's strange. With the little information you gave me, I was expecting a wider amount of results." Riley said.

He turned the laptop toward his big brother and showed him a picture of the koopa that he met.

"Yup, that's him." Kraig confirmed.

"Let's see. His full name is Larry Koopa but he also uses the name Larry Mulan. He was also called Cheatsy. I love that nickname. I should get me someone like him. So this guy used to be an orphan up to age 4 then got adopted by Bowser Koopa."

"Wait, one of my contact is Bowser and he's his father!?"

"Not biologically but that still counts. He's been working as a spy for his father since he was 5. Goodness, anyone else would still be training at his age! He must be a natural born. His record only shows a single failed mission which was to take some orange wand from the Grassland king to his king to have it examined. The reason of his failure was because Larry heard a disturbing revelation of himself from the grassland king when he attempted to steal the wand that he's some kind of… athlete? What a dumb revelation! Who would ever get disturbed by that? That's dumb!"

"I think it says athlean. This must bear an entirely different meaning."

"Oh right, thanks bro. According to the scanners, there's little to no information about athleans. It seems that they used to exist in large quantity but something almost wiped them out entirely. That must also be why that Larry guy became a spy so young. The scanners can't get history that dates from more than eleven years and we got lucky about that orphanage part. Let's continue reading his profile. Since age 5, Larry was also the leader of the Koopa Troop Special Forces that includes him and his siblings save for Bowser Jr. This guy might be a threat to our operations. We still have a month before we can fully confirm the effects of the bio-chemical weapons and I don't want him to get mixed up with all of that."

"Riley, you worry too much. There's no way anyone down there can retrace us here. We're using teleporters to prevent anyone to follow us."

"I suppose you're right, bro. Also, I almost forgot to tell you I kidnapped Bowser."

"YOU WHAT!?"

"Calm down bro. I needed a vaccinated test subject and one that could be a potential danger to our operations so I took him away while the bio-chemical weapon was released inside his castle. Besides, it would confirm if your vaccine actually works. He's in a holding cell in the prison block. Since you said you gave him a vaccine, I'll go try my weapon on him right now!"

Riley immediately left the room. Kraig did not have time to ask him about the two other contacts he was meant to meet. He stayed in the living room drinking his cocktail. A few minutes later, his little brother came back with a grumpy face.

"Your vaccine works well, maybe even too well for my liking." Riley coldly said.

"That's the point of a vaccine: once it's in the patient's blood, there's no way to get him infected by it." Kraig replied.

"Say, how did you do that with the few resources you had in your disposition?"

"First, you need to know that a vaccine is made of weakened or dead cells of a disease, the one you want to protect your patients from."

"That sounds stupid. They'll still get infected by it."

"That's the plan. They get infected by a significantly weakened version of your virus. Something I also discovered about it is if the virus is too weak it can't turn anyone into skeletal monsters. It'll instead make them drowsy a few days after they received the vaccine."

"You sure taught me a lot about my own weapon. Enough business talking, let's play some video games!"

They turned the huge flat screen on and each picked a controller. Kraig loved co-op games while Riley preferred competitive ones. They still managed to have fun despite their different tastes. A few hours later, they got tired. The crocodile stood up and prepared himself for bedtime but not before his little brother felt that something was wrong with Kraig.

"Kraig… Do you like being here with us?" Riley asked.

"I can't answer you with a yes or no. I love being in the laboratory. I also love to be on the field down there. It's just a shame that my first day was ruined by some punk and not being able to find my two contacts."

"Speaking of your contacts, while I kidnapped Bowser, I saw no signs of his prince son or his advisor."

"That's strange. Anyway, those are the only places I like to be besides in our quarter."

"I know you don't get along well with anyone here and that, outside of the laboratory, you don't have many friends aside of me and MOM. Next time you go down there, open yourself a little more and make friends with some of the locals and, if you meet him again, Larry."

"You'll let me do that? Aren't you afraid that he might know about our operations?"

"Sure, why not? As you said, even if he knows about it, I doubt he'll be able to retrace us here. I'll even allow you to tell him anything you want with one exception: do not tell him about our true relationship. Whenever I come down there, I don't want him to try to reason me. Plus, if the word gets to the deserter, he might come back and start a mutiny and we can't afford that until we got rid of him."

"Wow, thanks, bro. I didn't know you saw that from me."

"Anything for my big brother, I mean by age, not by size." He joked.

"Riley…"

"Sorry, I was mean but it's kinda awkward because you're figuratively and literally big. One last thing: if you plan to go to Sealand, hook me up and I'll go down there with you."

"Okay but it won't be before a few days. I still have a few things to do at the Koopa Castle then I'll go to Pipeland and Woodland before reaching Sealand."

They both told goodnight to each other and closed the lights.


	4. Paralogue 3

**Paralogue 3: Bone-ser**

Riley warped back to his ship after meeting Larry for the very first time. He was satisfied with the impression he gave to the koopaling and would now plan anything to torment the guy. HE did not care that he might have blown his own cover. He managed to get rid of the deserter and, to where he would go, no one would ever be able to follow him. On his ship, one of his minions welcomed him back aboard. The pterodactyl greeted back and walked through the corridors until he reached a laboratory. Once inside, many scientists met him with reports on different projects they were working on for him. One of his jobs was to make a trace of all the weapon research projects for MOM. Though he did not create the weapon that was used on the Mario World, he took the credits for its creation. The weapon was in fact a creation from MOM herself. Riley took the first report he saw from an anxious and worried scientist and started reading. It was the first day for the scientist and the others could tell that just by his anxiety in front of their boss. The report was about a sludge monster created with the bio-chemical weapon. He looked back at the scientist with its piercing gaze.

"So, you're telling me that the monster melted down in the desert due to the high temperature then evaporated into a gas that quickly vanished?" He coldly said.

The scientist nervously nodded.

"You did read the rules, right? Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you actually read them. In that case, let me remind you that failure isn't an option and it comes with a very pricey consequence." Riley reminded the scientists.

Riley took out his photon pistol, turned a switch on it and fire at the nervous scientist who got disintegrated into ashes. The other scientists did not seem to be disturbed about their boss' reaction. After all, they had been working for him for years and knew his behavior too well. Even the new workers were expecting this to happen because the older ones would tell them about Riley. Their boss tore the report apart and took another one from another scientist, more confident than the others. This one was about an improved blue gas. He only read the first lines which were the same as the "report" he gave when "proposing" the weapon to MOM for the first time.

"What's so interesting about that one?" Riley confusedly asked.

"Keep reading, master. You'll be overjoyed to know about this project." The scientist proudly replied.

"You know I hate reading long and boring texts. You read it for me." Riley ordered.

He gave back the report to the scientist.

"This newly improved bio-chemical weapon consists of the former bio-chemical weapon mixed with a rare disease that destroys the victim's immunity system..." The scientist read to everyone.

"You know it takes years for that disease to completely destroy someone's immunity system, right? You're wasting my time. I want something that can act immediately! I'll give you a second chance because you have some potential unlike the other loser. Don't screw yourself up." The boss coldly interrupted.

"… and also comes with an accelerating agent that multiply the disease's spreading rate by at least three hundred and sixty five times its base rate. With enough agents, we can have a weapon that acts almost instantly while bypassing any form of vaccine given to the victims." The scientist continued.

"That's quite interesting. Is it ready for use?" Riley curiously asked.

"I have a prototype ready for test use though I need a test subject."

"Don't worry. I have the perfect test subject for that." Riley maliciously chuckled.

The scientist gave him a canister full of a blue-purple liquid with darker blue particles swimming in it. The pterodactyl left the laboratory with the scientist and went to the prison block. Once inside, he stopped at a cell holding a desperate Bowser who was sitting down in a faraway corner of his cell. The cell next to his had a human lying sideway facing away from the koopa. He was wearing blue overalls with a red shirt, brown shoes, white gloves and a red cap with an M on the front. He had brown hairs and a black mustache. Upon hearing people coming in, the human stood up and looked at the visitors. The cells were made of sturdy glass panels that resisted against everything.

"Hello again, King Koopa, I have a little surprise for you." The boss told Bowser.

"Forget it. You can't infect me." The koopa taunted.

Riley looked back at the scientist. His smile disappeared.

"I hope it works or I'm sending you into who know were with Mister Bangbang." He whispered.

The scientist confidently nodded and opened a small hatch. Riley poured the liquid inside the hatch and Bowser's cell began filling with a blue-purple gas. A few seconds later, the cell became completely full due to the gas taking all the space inside. Nothing seemed to be happening.

"Well, mister scientist, I don't really see the…" Riley started.

They suddenly heard screams of agony as Bowser, burning in blue flames, emerged from the gas and rammed the glass panel facing the visitors, desperately trying to bust out of here. In the next cell, the human was terrified and backed into the far corner of his cell. The flames completely engulfed the koopa king only leaving behind his skeleton who was still living. The boss had never been so happy in his entire career.

"YES, YES, it worked! I'll have to give you a promotion! You're now my laboratory supervisor! Do make good use of this title." He joyfully announced to the scientist.

The pterodactyl pulled a medal out of his armor and hooked it on the scientist's labcoat.

"I don't care if it was the only one you had. I'm sure you can make more but I have a favor to ask you: can you make one that will give the victim a specific amount of time to live? I have the perfect victim in my mind." He asked while deviously gazing at the terrified human.

The scientist nodded and left the prison block. Riley stayed a little longer to stare at the new skeletal monster he just created. He was fascinated that he finally found a way to infect people were apparently immune to the standard bio-chemical weapon. He then looked back at the human.

"Praise this despair, worm! Soon, you'll join him into my army of skeletons." He threatened.

The human stood there completely paralyzed. The alien had enough and went to his auditorium to gather his orchestral crew and perform a symphony, one with more pride and arrogance and a little touch of despair. This despair was for his victims. He waved his arms holding a conductor wand and danced to the rhythm with his tail. This time, he put more enthusiasm in it since he was in a much better mood than last time. Once he finished his symphony, he looked around and saw Doctor Kraig waiting for him.

"Ah yes, Doctor, you're just in time! Come. We have much to discuss." He invited.

The two aliens went to the same room as the other day. Kraig closed the door behind and locked it. The pterodactyl served themselves with cocktails. The drinks were blue. They sat down in the living room.

"So, bro, how were things down there today?" Riley asked.

"They went better than in my first visit. I was able to meet with my contacts to check if the vaccine works and I even met Larry again. Even though we only spoke about jobs, I enjoyed talking with him." Kraig started.

He paused for a brief moment. He was not trembling but Riley guessed that his big brother must have seen something out of the ordinary even for a person that grew up in a high-tech environment.

"What's wrong, bro? Did the punk do something else to you again?" His little brother asked.

"Off course not, something odd happened down at the Sealand Shrine. Here, I have the full report on it."

Kraig took a document out of his labcoat and gave it to Riley. The latter read it. Though Riley stated that he hated to read long document, it was only in public.

"So, the skeletal monster can gather together to form a bigger skeletal monster. That's interesting. However, it seems that they need a core to do so. What do you mean by core?" Riley asked.

"I'm talking about someone that used to possess magical powers but turned into a skeletal monster. In that case, the core was one of Larry's siblings." Kraig answered.

"I see. Then, we pulled the core out of the bone mutant and the mutant broke into pieces. Who helped you with that?"

"Larry pulled the core out of the mutant. He then did something I can't really describe with science or any logics. He took a ribbon out of his bag and put it on the core. Then, the core emitted a strong light that turned it into a ghost. The ghost seemed to be one of his siblings considering the emotional impact it left on him."

"Hmm, so, if I understand correctly, someone can free a person that he holds dear by presenting one of his belongings?"

"I suppose that his sister must've held the ribbon dear. I doubt it would work with anything and anyone. The final result is just the same as destroying the monster though."

"In other words, it's pretty much pointless to do that weird process."

(But I'm quite curious to see that from my eyes.) Riley thought.

The brothers kept talking about the experiment until Kraig told Riley about how he put a tracer in Larry's bag.

"You clever boy, this'll make things easier for me. Now, I'll get to know his every move." Riley complimented.

"He got knocked back by the bony mutant in Sealand Shrine. While I was checking if he was fine, I slid a tracer bug inside his bag. He won't know because the bug blends with the colors." Kraig explained.

"I'll get to find him easier and present him a little surprise of my own."

"What kind of surprise do you have?"

"Remember when I told you about Bowser? I renamed him Bone-ser?"

Kraig dropped his glass. It shattered on the floor. Without Riley telling him exactly what he did to Bowser, he knew what his little brother did to the koopa king.

"Riley, why did you do that? He posed no threats to us. There was nothing he could do. How did you do that?" The crocodile asked.

"Well, I just received some news about an improved bio-chemical weapon and I needed a vaccinated test subject and Bowser was closer than anyone else." The pterodactyl replied.

The crocodile violently stood up. Riley did not move from his seat, his arms crossed.

"Riley, you're putting everyone's lives in danger! You're dooming all of us! When MOM learns about that, there's no getting out of trouble for you. I won't even need to expose you because you're already exposing yourself! Watch me! I'll make a vaccine that even your weapon can't surpass." Kraig told to his little brother.

"And with what will you make the vaccine, the plant from that one pink planet we came across years ago? Forget that! We only got one exemplary and the planet that had the plant got blown to smitheroons! How will you save the universe now!?" Riley deviously taunted.

Kraig could not believe him. For all those years, he knew his brother but he never expected him to do such a monstrous act. Why would he suddenly change like that? Why would he become the monster he is now?

"Riley… What happened to you?" Kraig quietly asked.

"What happened to me? WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!? I manned up if that's the answer you're looking for! If it wasn't for me, you'd still be at that dump of an orphanage lightyears away from here. I took the bull by its horn! I climbed the echelons one by one! I rose above everyone and became MOM's most trustworthy commander among the space pirates while you wasted your time studying dumb and useless things! I'm very close to take over the space pirates! Do you know how much I sacrificed to ensure a decent life quality to both of us!?" The little brother ranted.

"Maybe staying that the orphanage would've been better for me than being here with you, you psychotic degenerate!"

Riley wanted to say something but he noticed that Kraig was beginning to cry.

"Kraig, I…"

"I DON'T WANT YOUR FAKE EXCUSES! I DON'T WANT TO BE PART OF YOUR MONSTROUS ACTS! I ONLY FOLLOWED YOU BECAUSE I WANTED A BETTER LIFE BUT NOW THAT I'VE SEEN YOUR TRUE COLORS I DON'T WANT TO BE WITH YOU ANYMORE BUT IT'S NOT LIKE I HAVE A CHOICE! I WAS WARNED THAT I'M IN A GANG WHICH MEANS I CAN'T GET OUT. IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT I WOULD'VE ALREADY LEFT YOU A LONG TIME AGO!" The big brother furiously replied.

Kraig left the living room and went in his bedroom. Riley stayed sat in the living room and stared at his empty glass. He looked at the broken one that was not finished so the liquid spilled on the floor. He was not sadistic and heartless at this point. He had no choice. He knew that Kraig was lying in the first place about being indecisive regarding if he liked being here with the space pirates and in fact hated to be here. There was something else Riley kept secret but did not share with anyone, not even his big brother or MOM, especially not with her.

"Kraig… There's so much I want to tell you… I know you hate being here… I can't stand seeing you like that suffering over and over… I know you want to leave me… I know MOM will never let you go… Don't worry… Soon, things will change… I'll free you… You'll see… You just need to endure and wait a little longer… Soon, the suffering will stop and you'll be… Free." He whispered.

He stood up and took the laptop he used to gather information on Larry Koopa. Like the last time. He went looking for more information about him. After a few hours, he grew envious of the koopaling. He took the laptop, broke it in half and threw the pieces in a corner of the living room. He looked at the clock and noticed that it was past bedtime. He slowly walked to his room where he lied down on his bed. He looked at a picture frame standing on a table next to his bed. The frame had a picture of him and Kraig when they were younger, before they enrolled into the space pirates on behalf of MOM. He did not go to sleep yet. He then stared at the ceiling thinking about his future plans. He would torment Larry by first presenting Bone-ser to him. However, somehow, he would not bring himself to murder Larry. He thought that he would be a great friend for Kraig once he found a way to kick him out of the space pirates safely but his envy had to make the punk pay for attempting to meddle into Riley's plan. He now knew that the punk was after the wands and his siblings. Riley understood that Larry would look after his family after the incident but why did he want the wands? Maybe being an athlean had something to do with that. What use would the wands be for the koopaling? He had to know. He slowly closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"Kraig… I promise I'll free you… I don't know how but I'll find a way… No one will ever hunt you down… No one will ever doubt you… Everyone will love you… You'll see." He whispered in his slumber.


	5. Paralogue 4

**Paralogue 4: Met With Fame**

After he received his orders from King Bowser, Iggy was overexcited for today. Going to Woodland, representing his father, getting to see some outstanding technologies, it was the perfect day for him. What could go wrong? He headed straight to the garage of the castle, hopping like a bunny. Once he got there, he saw all the vehicles parked there. He spotted his bike in the middle and went to it. He stared at it for a moment.

(Well, today's a special day. I want others to know I'm living a very special day today. I should deploy my prototype ATV.) He thought.

Suited in his green shirt and black pants, he searched in one of his pants' pockets and pulled out a remote with a few buttons on it. He pressed one that had a picture of an open claw. From the ceiling, an All-Terrain Vehicle fell and squashed the bike.

(Whoops, maybe I should've moved the bike elsewhere. Bah, too late now, I gotta jet!) He thought.

The new vehicle had a skeletal-like design visually. The front was shaped like a dry drakoopa's head with its eyes serving as the lights. It was mounted on three big wheels to allow a better traction on-road and off-road. Iggy hopped on it and took a key from his shirt's pocket. He inserted the key in a hole on the dashboard and turned the key. The engine of the vehicle started. He was so excited to test-drive one of his projects let alone a personal one. During his free time, he would thinker all sorts of inventions ranging from simple gizmos to ambitious life-changing movements. Though he would usually let Bowser Jr test his inventions, the ones that a child like him would like to try, this vehicle, which he named the Bone Rattler, was made just for Iggy. With his recent participation to some karting competitions, he got the hold on how to drive ATVs and decided to make his own. He left the garage and headed to Woodland. He first passed by Iceland to test the tires on a slippery surface like ice. Afterwards, he headed to Woodland. Once he arrived at Woodland City, he parked his Bone Rattler and headed to the Oak. On his way there, the wigglers greeted him and Iggy saluted back. He kept walking but realized something right before he left town toward the Woodland Oak. He took a quick turn and headed to his house. He went inside and was greeted by a chain chomp.

"Chompy, I almost forgot about you. I'll put some food and water in your plates and I'll leave the hatch unlocked if you aver need to do something outside. I'll be gone for the whole day and once I get back we'll go take a walk." Iggy said to his pet.

He took a big bag full of dogfood out of a closet and poured some of its content into a plate and took a bowl and filled it with water. With that done, he petted Chompy and left the house while locking the front door behind. He arrived at the Woodland Oak filled with optimism and a smile. Once inside, he saw Queen Flutter greeting the visitors. He went to her.

"Good morning, Queen Flutter!" He greeted with a cutesy voice.

"Oh, Iggy, I was expecting you. I've received an important from your father." The queen told him.

The Woodland ruler took a letter out of her dress and gave it to Iggy. The latter opened it with a claw and started reading it. He only read the first lines and immediately got sad.

"I don't get to go to the meeting!?" He sobbed.

"Please, Mister Iggy, keep reading. There's more in the letter." Flutter said.

The koopaling kept reading the letter. Once he was done, his mood went back to normal.

"He wants me to build an invention for the future space expeditions!? THAT'S THE BEST DAY EVER!" He laughed.

"Indeed, you will be working with a member of the Mushroom Kingdom. He is already in the workshop in the underground level."

"A member of the Mushroom Kingdom, you said? Who could that be?"

Before the queen could answer him, Iggy rushed downstairs to the workshop. Once inside, he became completely paralyzed out of excitement when he saw who he will be working with.

"Professor Elvin Gadd… I wasn't expecting you there… It's great to see you in person! I'm a huge fan of your work and I've been one since the first time I saw you at a science fair in my school years ago!" Iggy stuttered.

"Are you the Koopa Kingdom member I will work with? I am pleased to see you. I'm looking forward to work with you." Elvin said.

Elvin's presence was overkill for Iggy. He could barely move and speak but he had to impress his idol with his own knowledges and techniques.

"Aaah! I wanted you to sign my copy of your book but I completely forgot it back home!" He gasped.

"We have no time for that, co-worker. We have a lot to do today and if we want to finish sooner we must start now." Gadd said.

Iggy nervously nodded and the two workers got to work. The Woodland ruler needed a vehicle operated by a minimum amount of people that could explore asteroid fields, moons and other planets. The collaboration between the two people drew a thick line between their methodologies. EGadd was a more realist man that focused on what was possible while Iggy was a more creative genius leaning on what could be possible. Nonetheless, their differences allowed them to start the project in less than half an hour. They concluded that they would make a mech for its small size compared to any other type of vehicles and its versatility. They would equip it with weapons to ensure a way to defend the pilot against any danger and tools for utility purposes. Their first prototype would have a bullet blaster and a fireball gatling gun as weapons as well as a drill and a vacuum for utility. They drew schematics of the mech, inspired of King Bowser. The invention would look a lot like him to represent the mech's sturdiness and might. After they designed the invention, they started gathering all the materials and tools they would need to build it. Since Elvin was old and could not lift many heavy objects, Iggy took care of carrying the heavier equipment. At noon, they already built the arms and legs of the mech. They took a break for lunch. Iggy looked around in the workshop and spotted a shelf full of books. Having visited the workshop many times, one book in particular, a rather thick and old-looking one, taunted him to peek in. The koopaling had enough. He took the big book and put it on a table. He opened it and started reading it. The book was full of calculus and formulas. He struggled to find their meanings but decided to skip to the end just for fun. Much like the rest of the book, the last page had one formula. Oddly enough, Iggy was able to understand it meaning compared to the rest of the book. The formula equated to Ignatius Howard Mechean. Why would a formula equate to a name? What did he stumble into? I did not matter at the moment. The break was over and he put the book back at its place. He and Elvin continued their work on their mech and, in the end; they managed to complete it after a few hours. The only thing left was to test the invention itself. However, Iggy noticed that his co-worker was starting to feel tiresome.

"Mister Gadd, I think you should take the rest of the day off. I'll perform all the tests on the mech by myself." Iggy proposed.

"Why thank you, I'm getting quite old these days, mister…" The human started.

"Iggy."

"Ah yes, I remember you. You're one of Bowser's children. I was wondering why you seemed so familiar to me. Have a nice day."

Elvin left the workshop.

(Well, it's time to test the mech but before, I'm feeling a little drowsy. I'll just take a nap on the table.) Iggy thought.

He removed his glasses and his clothes. He however kept his shell on. He lied down on a table and fell asleep.

"I remember… I remember a long time ago… One day, I woke up feeling down. I didn't understand it at all. The previous day, I was overjoyed and couldn't wait for the next day to arrive. How could I lose all joy and optimism in a night? I also remember when…" He whispered in his slumber.

 _With the problem he had, Iggy had issues to sleep in the first days. This was before Bowser noticed it and gave him medicine to help him sleep. Like every day, Iggy was sad for an unknown reason. One night, he remained awake in his bed. He looked at the clock to see that it was midnight. He could not stay in bed and do absolutely nothing. He decided to get off his bed and leave his room. He wandered through the corridors, looking for something to do to pass time. When he reached the throne room, he heard a set of strange noises coming from the corridor behind the throne. He slowly headed to the said corridor. The noise came from a closed door. Iggy opened it and found himself in a workshop. It was filled with metal pieces and tools. He also saw Bowser facing away from him, sat down at a desk. He seemed busy. Iggy slowly approached him and tried to see what he was doing. The king noticed him._

" _Iggy, what are you doing awake at that time?" Bowser asked, surprised._

" _I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. What are you doing?" Iggy asked back._

" _Well, I'm building toys."_

 _The king took the koopaling and put him on his knees. Iggy saw on the desk a small funny-looking metallic koopa. It also had a hole on its back._

" _Why is there a hole here?" The koopaling asked while pointing the toy._

" _I'll show you." His father whispered as he opened a drawer and took out an oddly shaped metallic object._

 _Bowser inserted the object inside the hole._

" _Let's see if it works. Crank the key, son." He told Iggy._

 _The latter grabbed after the key and tried to crank it. It did not budge._

" _You're cranking in the wrong direction. Try the other way." Bowser said._

 _Iggy twisted the key the other way. The key was turning. He kept cranking it until it would no longer move. When he released it, the toy started marching on the desk. Fascinated, he stared at the toy walking by itself. Seconds later, the toy suddenly stopped._

" _You wanna try to make your own?" His father asked._

" _Won't you send me back to bed?" Iggy asked back._

" _You look too awake for that."_

 _Iggy nodded at his father. They spent an hour to gather some pieces, build a new toy just like the other one. This time, Iggy was the one who did the entire job. Once the toy was built, his father handed him a key which he put in the hole on the toy's back. As he was about to crank it, Iggy's eyes slowly started closing. He fell asleep before he could twist the key. He felt being picked up._

" _Iggy, you look sad. I hope no one is hurting you. If you have a problem, tell me or your siblings. It'd be our pleasure to help you make you smile."_

"Sir, wake up! We're under attack!" A voice called for him.

Screams filled the room. Iggy felt being shaken. He woke up but because he did not have his glasses on everything appeared blurry from his sight. A tall yellow silhouette was standing in front of him and grabbed him.

"Wait! Where are we going!? I can't see without my glasses!" Iggy said.

"There's no time for that! We need to hide! The boos will be there anytime soon! This should be a good hiding spot for you!" The silhouette replied.

Iggy was put on a seat in some kind of container. The door closed and the interior went pitch black. Some lights turned on. Despite being near-sighted, Iggy recognized the place.

"WELCOME ABOARD, PILOT, HOW MAY I BE OF ASSISTANCE TODAY?" A robotic voice communicated.

He was inside his mech. He installed a voice module to allow the use of voice command.

"Activate the main camera." Iggy ordered.

A screen turned on in front of him. He saw what was going on outside the mech. The yellow silhouette was facing many white ones.

"ONE WIGGLER AND TEN BOOS IN THE AREA, AWAITTING ORDER." The mech delivered.

"So boos are invading the Oak, eh? In that case, activate the vacuum!"

"ACTIVATING VACCUUM TOOL."

He saw most of the white silhouettes getting sucked into the mech's right arm. One of them fled the scene holding something. The yellow silhouette knocked on the mech.

"Open the main hatch!"

"OPENING MAIN HATCH."

The screen turned off and everything in front of the koopaling opened itself.

"Thank you, sir; I didn't know you could operate this." The silhouette thanked.

"Don't mention it. Where are my glasses?"

"One of the boos fled with them sadly."

"Can we deploy the mech outside?"

"I'll go check the garage door."

The silhouette left the workshop toward a vast room. He came back a few seconds later.

"The door has been sealed. There's no way to leave that way." The silhouette announced.

"That's not good. Without my glasses, I can't modify the mech to install a more powerful drill. Can we wait here until help arrives?"

"Indeed, the depot possesses enough supplies for a year."

Iggy made up a plan with the silhouette. Whenever boos would attempt to raid the workshop and the depot, the wiggler would set a decoy under the form of a mechakoopa to distract the indruters while Iggy would take them by surprise with the mech. This proved to be an effective plan in the next days. One day, they put their plan to execution but they were not facing boos. Nonetheless, the wiggler overheard that this group was here to bring the mech down so they had to defend the workshop and the depot at all cost. Iggy was waiting after the group to fall for the trap. He was hiding with his mech behind a pile of crates in the depot.

"Mech, launch scanner!" Iggy ordered.

"SCANNING… ONE KOOPA, ONE HUMAN, TWO UNKNOWN."

"Great, the vacuum won't work against them."

"The group fell for the trap. You know what to do, sir." A voice said.

Iggy kept contact with the silhouette that helped him during the big day with a radio. Iggy moved out of his hiding spot and faced the group. He honked at them to get their attention.

"Alright, mech, fire the main cannon!" Iggy ordered.

"FIRING MAIN CANNON."

On his screen, he saw a trail of black smoke flying fast under the camera. The group of silhouette moved out of the way to the right and the smoke trail stopped at the wall on the other side of the depot, creating an explosive fireball.

"NO HIT." The mech announced.

"Gah! Guess I'll have to get closer and use something else. Alright, switch legs to wheel mode!"

"SWITCHING TO WHEEL MODE."

"Activate the turbo!"

"ACTIVATING TURBO."

The mech went to the wall where the smoke trail stopped but Iggy manually deactivated the turbo and pulled some levers to steer the mech and brake. He was facing the group again but much closer this time. All but one silhouette, a yellow-orange one with something sky blue on the top, ran away.

"Charge!" Iggy ordered.

His mech collided with the silhouette. He was not expecting the silhouette to be able to stop the mech on its track. He reversed.

"This guy's strong but I'll show him. Fire the fireball Vulcan!" Iggy ordered.

"FIRING VULCAN."

A barrage of fireball came from under the camera feed. The fireball flew lower than the smoke trail. The silhouette moved out of the way and a rock wall appeared out of nowhere.

"How did this get here? Activate the drill!"

"ACTIVATING DRILL."

Thanks to the drill, Iggy made short work of the rock wall. He then turned a corner and saw the silhouette running away from him.

"Let's finish him. Charge!" The koopaling ordered.

The moved fast toward the silhouette but, at the last second, an object got in the camera's feed's way and the mech suddenly stopped. The screen started flickering.

"Woah! What was that!?" Iggy asked.

"WARNING: HEAD DAMAGE: CRITICAL."

"Aaah! The head's stuck on something and I can't reverse. I have no choice but to move forward."

Iggy pushed a lever forward and he felt something ripping the head off. The screen went completely black. He stopped the mech.

"Alright, mech, activate the backup camera!"

"ACTIVATING BACKUP CAMERA."

The screen went on again and the silhouette was at the wall.

"Charge!"

The mech went forward. Before reaching the wall, the silhouette left to the left. Iggy tried to pull the same trick as before but…

"WARNING: SLIPPERY GROUND DETECTED."

"WHAT!? This can't ha…"

Iggy felt the mech sliding. It hit something and the koopaling was violently shaken. When he got his spirits back, multiple lights started blinking while warning sounds started.

"WARNING: RIGHT ARM DAMAGE: CRITICAL."

"Guess I'll have to…"

He felt something tearing a part of the mech off.

"ALREADY!? That guy's not messing around!"

"WARNING: LEFT LEG DAMAGE: LIGHT."

"Well, at least, it's just…"

"WARNING: LEFT LEG DESTRUCTION IMMINENT."

"HE LIT THE BOB-OMBS ON FIRE!? That's it! I'm done for!"

Iggy gave up. His opponent was too quick on its feet and the mech was no longer in condition to keep up the fight. An explosion caused the mech to fall on its back. The koopaling closed its eyes, accepting his fate. He waited a few seconds. Someone knocked on the hull.

"It's alright! You can come out."

"Mech, open the main hatch." Iggy said in a desperate voice.

"OPENING MAIN HATCH."

The hatch opened and…

"Gee, I wasn't expecting that at all." A familiar voice spoke.

He was not done. Iggy got so excited when he recognized the voice of Larry.


	6. Paralogue 5

**Paralogue 5: The Meeting**

Riley was preparing himself in his bedroom for the arrival of MOM. Today was the day he would present her the results of the bio-chemical weapon. Today was the day MOM would finally retire and give Riley the control of all MOM. He suited himself in his best looking black tuxedo and accompanied it with a red bowtie around his neck. He opened the drawer of his table next to his bed and pulled out a toy spaceship. It used to belong to his big brother until he "lost" it a long time ago. He stared at it and dropped a tear before putting it back in the drawer. Today was also the day he would come up with a plan for his big brother.

(The time's come. Soon, you'll be free, Kraig…) Riley thought.

Someone knocked on the door to his private quarter. He went opening it to see that it was the scientist he promoted to supervisor.

"Sir, your needle is ready." The supervisor announced as he handed Riley a needle filled with a blue-purple substance.

The pterodactyl took it and headed to the prison block with the scientist. During the few days after he wanted one, he told the scientist to change some things like its delay of effect. He wanted his first victim to have a few days to live before the latter would become a lifeless skeletal monster. First, he had to make a stop at the bridge to check on the planetary telescope. A mechanic just finished inspecting the telescope.

"You there; stay in the room. If something wrong happens because of the telescope, you'll be our number one suspect on the list and we can't afford to let you escape for that." Riley ordered.

The mechanic nodded and left the telescope alone. While the latter was not looking, Riley inserted a bug-sized device inside it. Once attached, the device made some quiet beepings and went silent. The device was ready. Riley left the bridge and joined back the scientist.

"I have also received news of your latest weapon. It should be ready in a few days." The scientist brought up.

"Excellent, I knew you'd get the job done unlike that Kraig guy." The boss muttered.

"The new weapon will allow us to evolve skeletal monsters into bone mutants and so on."

"Perfect, with this at our disposal, the universe will be ours."

They reached the prison block. Dry Bowser occupied the cell where Bowser used to stay. The other cell was still inhabited by the plumber. Riley opened the plumber's cell. The latter was sat down with no hope left in him. He did not even react to the door opening.

"It's time for you to go back to your friends." Riley happily declared.

The plumber did not react much to the words. He first looked at Riley but then looked away. He had no more hope left. It no longer mattered for him to return on the Mario World. He thought that Riley already won. He believed that he was the only one who could stop the alien. Alas, and ironically, he was easily defeated right before the incident started.

"Well, you're free. We can get you out the calm way…" The pterodactyl impatiently started.

He slowly walked inside the cell. The plumber stood up, ready to defend himself. Riley chuckled when he saw the plumber trying to gain back his confidence. Riley just grabbed the plumber by the neck and threw him outside the cell. The latter hit the wall and fell on the floor.

"… Or the hard way." Riley arrogantly finished.

The plumber had no energy left to stand up. Having been in a cell for days without any means to preserve his physique weakened him. Riley walked up to the human and stuck the needle in the neck. All the blue-purple liquid went into the human. Riley then took the human and brought him to the teleporters. An alien minion was operating the teleporters.

"Set coordinates to somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. I'm done with this clown." Riley ordered to the minion.

The latter nodded and reprogrammed one of the teleporters. Riley threw the plumber inside the teleporter. A beam of green light made the human disappear.

"Sir, since you're here, MOM is ready to embark on your ship." The minion told to Riley.

"Good, enable her reception. Where's Kraig?"

"I've just received his request to board the ship. I'm granting him access right away."

Two teleporters got filled with green light beams. The beams vanished and Kraig appeared as well as a mechanical lifeform. The newcomer was mostly a robot on wheels with grip claw for hands. It also had a jar filled with water that kept a brain with eyes, wired to the robot, fresh. The machine approached Riley.

"Ah, MOM, I've been waiting for your arrival since day one." Riley joyously welcomed.

"JUDGING BY YOUR ATTITUDE, THE EXPERIMENT MUST HAVE BEEN A SUCCESS." MOM guessed.

Since MOM did not have a mouth to speak, parts of her body flickered to mimic her speech. Kraig did not say anything. As usual, he gave his report to the pterodactyl. The trio headed toward the bridge. While on their way to the bridge…

"There's no way out of that one, Riley. Why don't you tell her that you murdered many innocents with your experiment?" Kraig whispered.

"I know, Kraig. It's been good to meet you." Riley whispered back.

Kraig had no idea why seemed so confident and accepting. The trio finally reached the bridge. The mechanic was standing next to the door inside the bridge.

"WHO IS THIS PERSON? WHY IS HE WITH US?" MOM asked.

"If the telescope doesn't work properly, someone would at least be there to fix it. Now, everything you need to know can be seen through the planetary telescope. Have a look." The pterodactyl answered.

MOM approached the planetary telescope. Riley stopped at a distance and held Kraig by the arm, preventing him to get closer to the device.

"Riley, what do you think you're doing?" Kraig asked.

"MOM doesn't want to be disturbed right now." Riley replied.

They stood there looking at the machine. MOM took a look inside the telescope.

"RILEY, I MUST SAY THAT…"

A white flash blinded everyone in the room. A loud explosion could be heard. Many alarms went on. The room was filled with many beepings of all kind. When everyone could see again, MOM was gone. The planetary telescope blew up and disintegrated the leader of MOM. Riley screamed in terror while Kraig was astonished. The pterodactyl looked back at the mechanic.

"YOU MURDEROUS BASTARD!" He screamed before grabbing the mechanic by the neck and strangling him.

He did not let his victim breath. A few seconds later, the mechanic was no longer breathing. His eyes rolled in. Riley released his prey as a group of space pirates rushed inside the bridge to see what all the commotion was about. Riley fell on his knees and began crying. Smoke started invading the room and everyone had to be evacuated from the bridge. Riley was escorted to the private quarter but he demanded that Kraig join him. While the other space pirates were defusing the current situation in the bridge, Kraig and Riley were left alone in their private quarter.

"Kraig, can you please lock the door?" The pterodactyl sobbed.

The big brother obeyed.

"Riley, I know you murdered her. It was obvious you'd do such thing." Kraig coldly said.

Riley's cries slowly became laughers of sadism. He looked back at the crocodile.

"I know, you've always been good to know my true feeling, maybe too well. Now that MOM's out of the picture, I can become the boss of her minions!" Riley said.

"Why did you do this? You were already at the top. There was no need to kill MOM. You just killed our mother…" Kraig said.

Kraig wanted to be angry at his little brother for having done the unthinkable but at the same time he was feeling something he never felt before in his entire life. He did know what it was.

"There's one thing MOM would've never let me do if she remained alive…" Riley deviously answered.

Riley pulled out his photon pistol and pointed it at his big brother. The latter were at Riley's mercy. Kraig had no choice but to raise his hands.

"… And it involves you, Kraig. I hope you wrote your last will." Riley arrogantly declared.

The crocodile closed his eyes, out of fear. He could not see his little brother killing him.

(Good, he closed his eyes, now's the time to tell him everything.) The pterodactyl thought.

Riley slowly approached his big brother and holstered his weapon. He jumped at him and wrapped his arm around the neck to hug him.

"I'm setting you free." He whispered.

"Riley, what are you doing now? What have you been planning behind my back?" Kraig replied.

The pterodactyl jumped down on the floor and looked back at Kraig. The former was crying.

"You heard me right, bro. I'm kicking you out of MOM." Riley announced.

"Why would you do that?" Where will I go then?"

"I won't worry much about you, Kraig. You've proven to be good, too good to be rotting here with some nobodies."

"But what about MOM? Why did you kill her? She was our mother!"

"Kraig… She never loved us. She just pretended to be our mother." Riley confessed.

Such revelation shocked Kraig. Being told that, let alone by his little brother, came out as a shock.

"But, she's always been there with us, Riley! How could she not care for us?" Kraig reminded him.

"You don't understand. I have all the evidences to prove you otherwise."

The little brother left the living room and returned with a computer. He gave it to his big brother who checked the datas. The computer had journal logs written by MOM herself. After he read through all the journal logs, Kraig looked back at Riley. He was also crying.

"How could she do that to us? We were just pawns to strengthen her army and she was the one who came up with the bio-chemical weapon? Why would you lie to me, Riley?" The big brother asked.

"We're not a bunch of thieves like MOM keeps telling you. We're murderers and terrorists. She "adopted" us because she judged that we were from species of humanoids far superior to her space pirates, her own specie being weak. Of course, during the first years, she had to pretend to be a mother to us to not raise any suspicions we could have towards her and to gain our trust. Since the day we joined the space pirates, I knew right away that you would never like it here but at the time there was nothing I could do. So, I decided to play her game and I rose up in the ranks until I became her second-in-command. However, you started discovering MOM's true motives and you try to call her out. She kept erasing your memories to prevent you to either attempt to start a mutiny or leave the space pirates. I couldn't stand that anymore. Every time she wiped your memories, I had to take up to a month off to make you remember who you are. Then, MOM came to see me one day and told me that the next time you knew too much about us she would instead kill you. I couldn't let that happen so when she was developing the bio-chemical weapon I convinced her to let me take the credit so that you won't ever suspect her of anything. You took the bait as intended and you sided with her instead of against her as well as siding against me. At this point, all I had to do was to find a way to get rid of her. I'm sorry if I made you suffer through all of this. You don't have to forgive me, Kraig. I understand. I'm a monstrous degenerate. Now, go far away from here. Avoid any space pirates at all cost. I'll handle the rest. I'll tell everyone that I sent you on an expedition lightyears away from here." Riley explained.

The little brother turned around and walked away from Kraig, toward the window that showed the Mario World. He stared at the planet. Kraig was lost in his thought. The family he grew up into was a lie but not the way he expected it to be. In the end, Riley did care for him but had to be mean toward him or he would have been in trouble. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and opened back his eyes. He looked back at his little brother, facing away of him, staring at the planet.

"Riley…" Kraig started.

The little brother turned back to face his big brother. Kraig walked up to him. They stared at each other, right into the eyes, for a fairly long minute until the crocodile kneeled down to take the pterodactyl in his arms.

"You always cared for me… How could I not see that through your monstrosity? How did I get deceived so easily? I forgive you, Riley. I want to thank you for having been with me and having stayed my little brother during all those years. Why won't you come with me? Why do you send me alone?" Kraig said.

"Kraig, you have nothing to lose if you stay here. With all the knowledges you accumulated, you can just establish yourself a life very quickly. I can't leave with you. I'm sorry. Without the space pirates, I'm nothing. Plus, if I leave with you, they'll suspect that I was the one who murdered MOM. I'm just glad that you did not follow the same path that I walked. I'm happy to see that you spent those years to create a foundation for your future life while I wasted mine in the mud. Now, go, Kraig."

The crocodile released his little brother and stood back up. He went to the door and looked back at his little brother, smiling, before leaving the private quarter for good. When his big brother left, Riley shredded a tear of joy and looked back into the computer to check Larry's location. Larry was heading toward Iceland. Riley would intercept him there and send Dry Bowser too. He would not kill the koopaling in case that Kraig decided to be with him. Riley had now changed. He no longer wanted to torment the punk as much as he wanted before the meeting but he had to find someone to experiment Dry Bowser on and maybe there was still someone immune in Iceland. The planetary scanner showed no sign of life in Iceland though but Riley would not pay attention to it. If Larry was heading there, there must still be something. Riley turned off the computer and left the room. A few seconds later, the computer turned itself on.

"SO, RILEY THOUGHT THAT HE COULD GET RID OF ME JUST TO FREE HIS SUPPOSED BIG BROTHER. FEELINGS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE CAUSE OF THE LIVINGS' DOWNFALL. RILEY WILL PAY FOR HIS BETRAYAL BUT I MUST FIND A SUBTLE WAY TO BRING BOTH HIM AND KRAIG BACK HERE AND FINISH THEM OFF. LET US SEE… YES, RILEY STILL HAS THE SPACESHIP TOY I CONFISCATED FROM KRAIG. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT KRAIG WILL COME BACK IF RILEY WANTS TO GIVE IT BACK TO HIM. THE EXPERIMENT MUST GO ON. I MUST DESTORY THE ENTIRE MARIO WORLD AND CARRY ON WITH THE WEAPON. I SHALL RULE OVER MY SUSBJECTS WITH AN INVISIBLE HAND. SOON, THE TRAITORS WILL BE NO MORE AND I WILL RETURN." MOM's voice spoke.


	7. Paralogue 6

**Paralogue 6: Silent Hell**

Ludwig just received his indications from his father. He was not glad though despite being an important day today. Even if he had been living in Pipeland since Junior was born, he despised the place. From the ever shifting layout of Pipeland city to its ruler making puns at every chance he got. Ludwig could not stand it. He only chose to live there because he did not want his family to go after him when he used to be deaf and did not want to share his pain with his new little brother. It was the best place. The strict border laws and Pipeland's totalitarian reign scared people. After receiving the diplomatic authorization, he made sure he had his passport and his id card to make sure he could return to Pipeland City. He headed to the garage to ride his bike. His bike was shaped like a jet with no wings. He loved the design and asked his brother Iggy to make a hull like one. He rode until he reached the border to Pipeland City. It was not a long trip but what would make it long just began. He had to wait in line at the border. Hundreds of people were here before him to be granted entry to the city. An hour later, he was the next person.

"NEXT!" A voice spoke loudly.

Ludwig entered the booth and found himself facing a piranha plant behind a desk. The inspector was ready to examine the koopaling's papers.

"Papers, please." The inspector asked.

Ludwig handed over his papers.

"Why do you have a diplomatic authorization? Citizens do not need such document." The plant told him.

"I am on a diplomatic envoy on behalf of King Bowser for ze meeting with King Petey." Ludwig answered.

Just as he mentioned Petey, the latter showed up just like that. Ludwig was no stranger to the king's habit to go on a stroll in his land. The king waved at Ludwig but the latter ignored him. Though he was busy waiting to be granted entry, he did not want to speak to Petey right now. If he did, it would have ended up in a pun hell for him. The inspector examined Lidwig's papers and looked back at the koopaling.

"I'm sorry to tell you this but the diplomatic authorization does not comply with the regulations." The plant announced.

"VAT!? IT VAS WRITTEN BY ZE ROYAL ADVISOR HIMSELF! HOW COULD IT BE FALSIFIED!?" Ludwig loudly objected.

"Sir, we'll have no choice to detain you. SECURITY!"

The inspector closed his desk in front of the confused koopaling.

"OUT!" A voice outside the booth loudly ordered.

Ludwig chose not to object again and left the booth. A guard took him by the arm and led him in a temporary cell near the booths. The koopaling sat on the bed and stared at all the people that would be granted entry. Though some of them were denied entry, they were not detained like Ludwig. The koopaling layed down on his bed and closed his eyes.

(I remember… I remember a long time ago… Zey say hell, or ze undervhere as children call it, is a place deep inside our vorld. To me, hell is complete silence, being unable to hear. I still remember ven I lost my hearing. So many years spent into zis hell, my siblings ignoring me save for…)

 _Following the accident on the vacation project, Ludwig was ignored by his siblings. None of them could communicate with their deaf eldest brother so they no longer bothered to. It was very late at night, around midnight. The koopaling was still awake. Even if he could never be disturbed in his slumber, he could not sleep. He slowly stood up of his bed and left his room. He aimlessly walked through the empty corridors trying to find a way to fall asleep. He went to the throne room. His footsteps echoed through the vast empty room but he could not hear them. He went on the other side of the throne room toward another corridor leading to a living room. He remembered the room. It was when he met Princess Peach for the first time. The living room had many couches and armchairs, a toy box and a piano. He did not notice the piano at first. He went to the toy box and opened as slowly as he could, hoping that the box would not emit a sound. He looked at the various toys inside: action figures, dolls, plushes and balls. He closed it back and looked around. He saw the piano. A book was placed on a small stand above the keys. He got on the bench and opened the book. He recognized the sonatas but he kept turning the pages. He always played piano every day. He then stumbled onto a sonata simply named Pathétique. This name could not fit Ludwig's existence any better. He looked at the sheets. The sonata had three movements. It was an incredibly long song despite being on a piano. He left the living room and returned with a mirror that he placed on the piano in case someone would go see him to warn him about him playing too loud. He started playing the sonata. Even if he could not hear the music, he could feel it. The melancholy, the frustration, everything went from his fingers into his heart rather than his ears. On the last notes, he slammed the keys and performed one last slam, ending the first movement. He got exhausted. He closed his eyes and took deep breathes. He opened his eyes and looked at his mirror. He was expecting to see his father to be brought back to his bedroom and the latter locking the door to prevent the child to leave his room again. He was surprised to see his youngest brother at the time, standing in the doorway while wearing a blanket like a cape and holding a pillow and, of course, his goomba plush. The little punk was so attached to this toy that he refused to lend it to anyone in fear that they would bully him again. He had his usual cheerful look on his face. Ludwig envied him for being able to smile in darkest times. The child was not wearing a shell like Ludwig but, while the oldest koopaling was wearing a t-shirt with underwear, Larry was wearing a red pajama with starmen all over it. Ludwig turned around to face him._

 _(Larry, vat are you doing zere!?) Ludwig tried to ask._

 _The little brother tilted his head sideway. It was then that Ludwig realized that his little brother could have asked him the same question. Larry did not ask him because he knew that Ludwig was deaf. The eldest koopaling felt embarrassed for not having thought about that. He looked away and scratched his head. They were both awake past midnight but neither of them could answer each other. Ludwig looked back at his youngest brother._

 _(Did I vake you up?) Ludwig tried to ask._

 _The little brother nodded sideway. He must have been already awake. Larry slowly entered the living room and put his pillow on a couch. He got on the couch and wrapped himself with his blanket. He kept staring at his big brother. He did not move anymore._

 _(You vant me to keep playing ze piano?) Ludwig tried to ask._

 _His little brother nodded. Ludwig could not help but smile at him. After all, one smile brought another one. He was touched that someone decided to still be with him despite his handicap._

 _(Very vell, our next movement is a very calm vone, perfect for a lullaby.) Ludwig tried to say._

 _He turned back at the piano and started the second movement of the sonata. From time to time, he would look at the mirror to see his little brother staring at him. This time, he felt joy and at peace in his heart. The company of his little brother comforted him. Near the end of the movement, Larry started to feel tired. He lied sideway on the couch, his head on his pillow. He yawned and slowly closed his eyes. Just as Ludwig was done with the second movement, his little brother felt asleep. Though the sonata had a third movement, Ludwig did not bother to play it. Its sheer intensity would wake up his little brother and he did not want to do that. The eldest brother left the living room only to come back with a pillow and a blanket to be with his little brother. He put everything on the other side on the same couch where Larry was sleeping. He approached him and caressed his head._

 _(Larry… I zank you for being vith me in zis silent hell. I am terribly sorry for how I humiliated you in front of father before he adopted us. Vone day, I'll find a vay to properly apologise to you. Saying sorry vill never suffice for me, I am sure of zat. For now, zank you for your presence.) Ludwig thought before going to sleep._

 _A few minutes later, something big, like a hand, caressed his hairs. He recognized Bowser's hand. He too was worried for Ludwig._

"Wake up, sir! We need your help!" A voice called for Ludwig.

The koopaling woke up, still in the cell at the border. A piranha plant, suited in royal attires, woke him up.

"Vat is going on?" Ludwig asked as he opened his eyes.

"Our king is nowhere to be seen and we need to find him or elect a new ruler! Where have you seen him for the last time?"

"He vent on his daily stroll but I fell asleep so I don't know if he came back."

"That's bad. In that case, since you're one of Bowser's royal bodyguards, maybe you can act as a replacement for now."

Without hesitation, the plant dragged Ludwig into Pipeland City. The city was in chaos. The plants had no rulers and they rioted in the streets.

"Vat is going on?" Ludwig asked.

"Since there is no ruler, the citizens don't know what to do. Plus, there was a terrorist attack on the Pipeland maze. Someone posing as a Space Federation member unleashed a blue gas in the Pipeland Maze but we managed to contain the gas in a single room to minimize casualties. We tried to contact the other lands but we received no response from them. I fear the big day was just a setup from an outer force to destroy our world." The advisor explained.

They arrived inside the Pipeland Maze. They entered the king's room.

"Here's the plan: While I look for Petey, just pretend to be a king. This should bring back order to the city. All we need to do is find clothes that will make you look lordly enough for the people." The plant advised.

The plant went checking in many drawers and threw out all the clothes from them. The clothes fell on Ludwig who could barely move for being buried in them. Out of the ordinary, the plant found the blue wand in one of the drawers. He tossed it behind. Ludwig managed to catch it, unaware of what would happen to him. The wand spread its magic on the koopaling.

"Excuse me, sir. Vat is happening to me right now?" Ludwig asked.

The plant turned around and gasped when he saw Ludwig holding the blue wand. He went to him and removed all the clothes that buried him and kneeled down to him.

"Vat are you doing?" Ludwig asked again.

"How did I not see that in you? It has been a long time since a musean did not rule over Pipeland?"

"A museum? You let a museum rule over your land? No vonder you are all idiots!"

"No, I mean musean as in the seventh royal drakoopa family. You must be Ludwig Von Musean, true inheritor of the Pipeland throne. That will make things even better. The people will surely listen to you."

Ludwig was excited. After his dream of the koopa throne was crushed by his handicap before it was cured, he felt hopeless of ever ruling over anything. He had no idea what a musean or a drakoopa was but he could not wait to rule over Pipeland. However, since he had a procedure to respect with his siblings and that he could not travel outside the land in fear that Pipeland would remain in anarchy, he asked his advisor to place posters of his family members all around the land to find them. He sent scouts outside the land to try to find them. Since he was not there when his siblings received their indications during the big day, he did not know where to send them. He however received multiple reports about disturbing sightings of dry creatures all over Amarioca. He had to shut down pipelines and radios to make sure no dry creature would attempt to enter the land and keep control of the situation. Days have passed. He was playing piano when a piranha plant, his advisor, entered the room, holding a phone.

"Your highness, the border has a message for you." The plant said.

The koopaling stood up and took the phone from the plant.

"Hello? I hope zis is important. You interrupted my performance."

"Good morning, your highness. I have a certain Larry Mulan and Bowser Koopa Jr here ready to enter the city."

The new king could not be more excited to hear some of his siblings' names. There was still hope that his family had survived the incident.

"Let zem enter. Tell zem that zey can rest at ze 140 Megasmilax Avenue. Zank you for zis vonderful new, inspector. Have a nice day."

"Alright, I'll tell them, bye."

Ludwig was about to hook up when.

"Hold on." The person on the phone asked.

"Is zere anyzing else, inspector?" Ludwig asked.

"Yes, there's a certain Petey Piranha at the border too."

"You mean ze former Pipeland king!?"

"Wait. He's the former king?! But he doesn't have his papers. What should I…"

"Do not vorry. I've seen his papers lying somevere here."

"Oh, you have them with you. Can you scan them and send the prints to me please? I'll check them."

Ludwig went searching in the drawers and found Petey royal's passport and his id card. He went to a printer and scanned the documents.

"All done, you should have zem in a minute."

"Alright, bye."

"Farewell."

The king gave the phone back to his advisor. He however got an idea in his mind.

"Advisor, have you heard of a play called Ze Silent Knight?" Ludwig asked.

"I'm afraid to tell you that I never heard of such play."

"I am not surprised. It vas vritten by my foster mozer in ze time I stayed at an orphanage. It is a very underrated play and, over ze years, I tried to remember ze script. How about ve organize a play right now. Bring me your five best actors here."

"Yes, your highness."

"Another zing: ven Petey vill be in town, bring him here. I have much to discuss vith him. Don't bring Larry or Junior here yet. Vonce you vill return, I should be ready."

The advisor bowed down and left the room. Shortly after, a wooden puppet entered the room.

"Vho are you?" Ludwig asked.

"Greetings, your highness. My name is Geno. I have travelled with your brother Larry to aid him in his quest to restore the world." The puppet answered.

"Vait! Zere is a vay to restore ze vorld?"

"Indeed, he has already visited all the other lands and acquired six of the seven wands. He should be arriving here in a moment."

"If he went to ze ozer lands, zis must mean he must have reunited our family!" Ludwig gladly declared.

"Alas, I am sorry to tell you that not all your siblings made it. Only him, Junior and Iggy are alive."

"But vat about ze king or his royal advisor? Are zey fine?"

"Kamek is with them. They are all at the Mushroom Castle with many other survivors. As for Bowser…"

Geno closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"I understand. Fazer must have put a good fight before falling, same for my ozer siblings." Ludwig said.

"I will see myself out." Geno said.

"Vait! You said zere are ozer people zat survived ze incident?"

"Yes."

"May I invite zem to a play here? Do not say anyzing to Larry. It's a surprise for him."

"It must be for the Silent Knight play."

"How did you know zat?"

"I read his memories."

"You can do zat?"

"Yes, I am a star sprite with many functions."

"Never mind zat. Just bring everyone at ze Pipeland Maze. I vill reopen ze pipeline for zem."

The puppet left. A few minutes later, Petey arrived at the Pipeland maze. They discussed about the play and Ludwig asked him not to tell anything to anyone. As Petey left, the Mushroom Castle residents arrived and Ludwig greeted them. He wrote an alternate version of the Silent Knight in a record time. Instead of focusing on the knight, the story would be told from the baron's point of view and its fall into madness. He started the play but underestimated the amount of time he had. He was too early. He could not perform the last act of his play. The last and most important actor, Larry, had not arrived yet. To entertain the crowd while waiting after the silent knight, Ludwig brought an organ in the throne room. The special trait the throne room had, compared to other castles was its auditorium-like layout. A throne was standing on a wooden floor in front of a vast space where the crowd would be sitting. Petey would always give his speeches here instead of going to Pipeland city as well as doing stand-up comedy. Ludwig played the organ. Minutes later, he heard footsteps echoing through the vast room. He knew Larry was here. The time had come… The time to apologise to his little brother in the most spectacular way ever known in history.


	8. Paralogue 7

**Paralogue 7: True Inheritance**

Larry just left the room. His two other brothers only followed him a minute after. Junior was crying even more. To think that he only existed because of someone's wish hurt him deeply. To think that he himself was the cause of the family's downfall hurt him even more. What hurt him the most though was not what Larry said; it was that his father never planned to give his siblings anything. Kamek was still searching madly in the books.

"I'm telling you, Junior! I saw him writing his last will for the koopaling! I just don't know where he put them!" Kamek kept saying.

"Kammy, can you search in his office please?" Junior asked.

"But what if…"

"I need to be alone."

The magikoopa suddenly stopped in his speech and slowly nodded. He quietly left the room. The new king looked at the big portrait of his father. The longer he stared at it, the angrier he became.

"WHY DID YOU DO THIS PAPA?" Junior screamed.

He was not expecting the portrait to talk back but it was the closest thing to a real person. He searched in the desk and pulled out many objects: pencils, erasers, pens and more.

"YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER, I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU NEGLECT YOUR KIDS!" Junior loudly threatened.

He started throwing objects at the portrait. The objects bounced off the portrait and flew in any direction.

"THIS IS FOR LUDDY!" Junior yelled as he threw an eraser that bounced off the portrait.

"THIS IS FOR LEMMY!" He screamed as he threw a ball but missed his shot.

"THIS IS FOR ROY!" He shouted as he threw a bottle of ink that shattered on the wall right next to the portrait.

"THIS IS FOR IGGY!" He screamed as he threw a stapler to only fall on the ground, not even hitting a wall.

"THIS IS FOR WENDY!" He yelled as he threw a feather like a dart that stuck on Bowser's nose.

"THIS IS FOR MORTY!" He shouted as he threw the crown at the portrait.

He longer had anything to throw at the portrait. He looked around on the desk and saw a pebble. He remembered it. He gave it to his father as a birthday present because it was perfectly shaped. He found it on a field trip to Koopa Cape. He picked up the pebble and looked back at the portrait.

"This… Is… For…" Junior started.

He prepared himself to throw the pebble at the portrait.

"… LARRY!" He shouted, even louder than any other sentence he spoke before.

He threw the pebble. It flew like a bullet and hit Bowser right in the eye. It did not bounce off the portrait. Instead, it went through it. A second later, Junior heard the pebble falling on the ground. How could this happen? He approached the portrait and tried to unhook it from the wall. He slowly lifted the portrait. Since he was not that strong, he could only lift it but not carry it. Once he unhooked it, the portrait fell heavy for him. It fell on him. He closed his eyes and screamed, fearing that he would be hurt, but he went through the painting. He broke it. Someone knocked at the door.

"Junior, is everything alright!?" Kamek's voice worryingly asked.

Junior opened his eyes. He noticed that he went through the portrait but what caught his attention was a room he never went in before that used to be hidden by the portrait. The doorway was too high for him to climb up and explore this new part of his home. He went answered to the door where the voice came from. He opened it and saw his advisor.

"Kammy, I found a secret passage! Maybe Papa hid their inheritance in there!" The new king explained.

Kamek was shocked. He would be the one that would know everything about the castle but it was obvious in his reaction that he never heard that there was another secret room in Bowser's room. The two went to look at the secret passage. The magikoopa had to pick up Junior to help him climb up. It was a small room with a toy box inside. They opened it and a strong light blinded them.

They found themselves in a park filled with trees full of pink leaves, bushes and even a spot with attractions for children. Seven children were playing on the attractions. Junior and Kamek recognized the koopalings. The koopalings seemed a lot younger. They even saw Bowser sat on a bench watching his children. The duo went to him. They did not understand how they could all be here and alive.

"Papa?" Junior asked.

Bowser turned his head and saw them. He stood up and brought with him a big box on wheels.

"Junior, my son, if you are here, this must mean that I left this world. What you see in front of you is only a memory fragment of me. You might think that I did not plan to give anything to your siblings but this box contains my last wills to them. I had to hide them in fear that certain malicious people, particularly King Boo, would know the link between us and them. Also, you know Larry. He would have found them easily. Please, return to your world and present them this box." Bowser explained.

A strong blinded the duo again and they were back in Bowser's room, this time with the box. Junior and Kamek were rejoiced to learn that the koopalings had inheritances. Junior opened it and saw all the weird documents inside. They all had a small piece of paper to indicate to whom it addressed. Junior only picked the ones for Larry, Iggy and Ludwig. Larry had an electronic tablet, Iggy had a book filled with calculus and Ludwig had a musical composition. He quickly left the room and ran around in the castle, trying to find his siblings. In the throne room, he saw Starlow. She seemed sad. Maybe she knew where Larry and his siblings went. She was always with him.

"Starly! Have you seen my brothers!?" The new king asked.

"Are those their…" The star sprite started.

"YES! They are their inheritance! They were well-hidden from public view! Please, tell me where my brothers went!"

"They all headed to Larry's room but they never left it."

"Thanks!"

He headed there and checked Larry's room. Starlow followed him. There was only an open suitcase with a button on it. Out of curiosity, he pressed the button and an energy circle formed itself around him and the next thing he knew was that he was now inside a spaceship. An alien welcomed him.

"You must be another guest with Larry Koopa?" The alien asked.

"You saw him!? Where is he!?" The new king asked, surprised.

"Head to the bridge. To reach it, take the first corridor to the left and take the stairs until you reach Level 3. Then, exit to the right and go at the end of the corridor. You can't miss it, kid."

"Junior, I couldn't join you! You have to find your brothers fast! They might be in great danger!" Starlow's voice warned.

Junior ran as fast as he could. He followed all the directions the alien gave him. He found himself in a long corridor and saw an open door with a silhouette. It was Larry. He ran toward him. The hope of reconciliation with him grew stronger in his heart. He would finally know what his father planned to give to his siblings. All that optimism, all that determination, it rushed down the corridor but before Junior could reach the bridge…

Blue-purple flames engulfed his big brother. Junior started panicking. He tried to run faster but he was already at his fastest. When he reached the bridge, the flames were gone, leaving behind a dry creature. All that hope was suddenly crushed. Junior started crying and went to hug what remained of Larry.

"NO! This can't be happening! We were so close, Larry! We could've been a family again!" Junior sobbed.

"Junior, stand back!" Iggy's voice warned.

"Zis monster is dangerous!" Ludwig's voice brought up.

He left Larry alone and saw that his two other brothers were also here. The dry creature got immediately pulled away and a tall purple monster showed up, big crooked grin on its face.

"YOU MONSTER! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO LARRY?!" Junior yelled at the monster.

"What a shame…" Riley simply replied.

"Junior, get out!" Iggy ordered.

"Ve cannot fight him! He vill turn all of us!" Ludwig pointed out.

"He was a good boy…" Riley continued.

He smacked his lips. The koopas were paralysed by fear. They could not move.

"… What a rotten way to DIE!" The monster screamed as he pulled out his firearm.

He sprayed everyone in the room. Junior could not see a thing with all the fire obstructing his sight. He heard his brothers screaming. He was also suffering but it did not seem as bad as his siblings. His eyes, nose and throat were burning. He struggled to breathe due to the pain and his sight blurred. When the flames vanished, everything appeared as silhouette. His two brothers were turned into dry creature.

"Gah! You're immune!? Good thing I put pepper spray in this!" The purple monster boasted.

Junior saw the purple silhouette approaching him.

"No, I won't kill you. I'll keep you as a trophy. For now, it's time for me to play another orchestra. I can hear the scions dancing in Purgatory and I won't let them do so in silence!" Riley mocked.

The purple silhouette left the bridge. Not counting the dry creature, Junior was alone. All hopes were lost. The one to be back with what remained of his family, the one to restore the world, they were all gone, crushed by a heartless degenerate. He kept coughing and tried to head toward the closed exit. Crying made him suffer even more because he had pepper spray in his eyes. Before he could reach it, the door opened again. This time, a giant green silhouette entered the room and gently picked up the new king.

"Foolish me, I should've known before that his big brother would foil my plan to restore the world. How did I not see how selfless he was?" The silhouette whispered.

The koopa was brought in another room and put on a table.

"I'll have to remove your shell to treat you. Are you comfortable with that?" The silhouette asked.

The prince nodded. His shell was removed and he lied down on his back. The silhouette wiped his face with a wet tissue and Junior could see clearly again. The silhouette was now a crocodile humanoid. He remembered that person. He saw him in Pipeland at the play. The crocodile talked to Junior. He spoke about a special vaccine he gave to Larry but the little prince had no idea what the guy was talking about. Now, he knew what it was about.

"I'll have to pass a tube down your throat to remove the pepper in your lungs. This might hurt but I have to do it to help you." The crocodile warned.

Junior opened his mouth. The tube went inside. He could feel it sliding down his throat. The doctor turned on a machine that extracted an orange substance from Junior's body. After the operation, the new king could breathe normally again. He was given his shell back and he wore it. They headed back to the bridge and sat down facing the dry creatures. They no longer know what to do. The crocodile was holding the child in his arms.

"Who are you?" Junior asked.

Truth to be told, the doctor never told his name back in Pipeland to the prince.

"My name is Kraig. I am Riley's half-brother and a scientist working for MOM."

"Why did you help him? Why are you helping me?"

"I helped them because I had no choice. I was raised by a machine that would always keep me here. I'm helping you and your big brother because I have enough of seeing more people falling victim to them. When your world found someone that could fight Riley without being a target, I vowed to help him."

"You mean Larry?"

"Yes, I first met him back at the Koopa Castle a few days after the incident. I was told by the stars that he was the one that would restore your world. It was hard for me to communicate anything to him in fear that Riley would know all about it. In Skyland, I gave him a needle containing the vaccine against Riley's enhanced virus but, judging by the circumstances, he must have given it to you."

"Yes…"

"Why would he risk his life to protect you at all cost?"

They looked at the dry creatures that stood there doing absolutely nothing. Dry Iggy and Dry Ludwig fell apart for no reason. Only Dry Larry was still standing. Dry Bowser, on the other hand, was still lying down on the floor.

"He was so afraid of being seen as selfish if he cared for himself in the slightest way. He did many bad things before I was born. He could not forgive himself. When I was born, he was always with me. He treasured me as if I completely changed his life. He was afraid that if he lost me he would go back in his bad habits… In the end, selfless is just another way to call someone selfish." Junior said.

"Junior, can you hear me?" Starlow's voice asked.

"Starly?"

"We're gathering our powers together to bring Larry back. Please, share your power with us."

"Yes… I want him to return. I want him to know Papa loved him all along."

"Speak to him directly."

"Larry… I don't care if you did bad thigs before I was born. I don't care if you screamed at me. You're still my big brother. I have your inheritance so, please, come back for your libra!" Junior yelled as loud as he could.

"May I share some words with you?" Kraig asked.

Junior nodded.

"Larry, I know we didn't meet often and that our first meeting was really awkward but I appreciated being with you. Please, stop my brother! Free him!" Kraig begged.


	9. Inspirations & Special Thanks

**Inspirations & Special Thanks**

Hello again,

If you are reading this, you must have read all the chapters of Zombie Heartbreaker and its paralogue before this chapter. If you did not, I suggest you to read them since this chapter contains spoilers.

Originally, I was just planning to write my inspirations and thanks but I decided to mix them with my personal commentaries regarding of how I wrote the fanfiction. Without further ado, let us stars.

 **General**

It all started when I started playing **Mario Kart 8 Deluxe**. I saw Larry in the character roster and I remembered him from when I was very young when my brother would play **Super Mario World** and I would look at the game booklet to stare at Larry. Over the days, while I had nothing to do. I went checking a wiki page about Larry and I found that he had an Easter egg in **Super Paper Mario** where he had his own game named Larry Koopa: Zombie Heartbreaker. Since then, I started thinking what kind of adventure Larry would go on. Like I stated in my profile, I used to write some fanfics so I was already familiar with the website and I decided to check how many fanfics about Larry there was. One of them caught my attention, named exactly like the fictional game (Special thanks to Walkazo) I read the story and I liked it. This gave me the idea of writing my own story. I waited until August to start writing because I had finals.

The covert is an art named "Dry Larry- No strings attach" (Special thanks to lucario-sensei on DeviantArt). I first asked permission via a comment on the art itself on October 14th 2017 but, after a few months, I realized that the person might no longer be active on the website and I chose to use the art anyway.

Since the Mario World does not have an established geography, I decided to create my own. For Amarioca, I inspired myself from both **Super Mario Bros 3** and **New Super Mario Bros** with some environment from **Mario Kart 8**. The difference, however, while the games depicted the Koopa Kingdom as volcanic, I chose to make it similar to the Mushroom Kingdom but more mountainous.

I did not want to write a typical post-apocalyptic where everything was ravaged with some survivors. I decided to have some lands where the virus could barely affect them with one that was entirely destroyed. Speaking of post-apocalyptic world, I wanted to make something more light-hearted than what most Mario post-apocalyptic fanfics on the website did while also showcasing the disturbing elements of it. So I decided that the monster would not be decaying corpses and would instead be skeletons referred as dry creatures to keep the Mario vibe in it. I also decided that an infected person would burn in blue flames only leaving the skeleton behind.

For the koopalings' age and birth order, I established that no koopaling had the same age and took the order they are fought in **Super Mario Bros 3** as their age order.

History-wise, Bowser only kidnapped Peach once, the event of **Super Mario Bros**. As soon as Mario arrives to his castle, the event of **Super Mario RPG: Legend of the seven stars** starts and is referred as the Smith War. Afterward, some of the events that happened in the story may be similar to those from the game but happen differently. By example:

 **Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island** : Kamek did not attempt to capture Luigi or Mario. He was too busy raising Bowser so that he could reclaim the Koopa Kingdom from King Boo as soon as possible (He was 20 years old when he became the new Koopa King). Yoshi found and raised the Mario brothers.

 **Super Mario Land** : In the meantime, between the Smith War and when Bowser adopts the koopalings, Mario goes to Sarasaland (known as Sarasia in the story) to investigate about a UFO that kidnapped Daisy. It was revealed to be Tatanga but he was release on behalf of the Sarasian princess.

 **Super Mario Bros 3** : Bowser, 24 years old, has seven new children: The koopalings. Instead of kidnapping Peach, her father sends her to Bowser's Castle to welcome the new royalties. Only one wand theft was attempted. Larry tried to steal the orange wand but failed his mission and reported it to Bowser.

 **Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga**: Peach, Bowser, now 30 years old, and the Mario brothers travel to the Beanbean Kingdom (Known as Obeanie in the story). Cackletta and Fawful attempt an assassination on both Peach and Bowser. The assassination fails: Both Cackletta and Fawful were arrested. However, Bowser fell of the ship and lost his memory. He was taken care by Popple who gave him a mask to hide his true identity. Bowser recovers his memory a few weeks later and Peach, along with the Mario brothers, finds him. They were surprise to see that Bowser now have an eighth child in an egg from an unknown mother.

 **Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story**: Mario and Luigi do not go inside Bowser. During the travel back to Amarioca, Fawfull attempts another assassination on both Bowser and Peach. This ultimately fails when Starlow intercepts him and sends him into his demise. Bowser returns to his castle with the egg.

 **Super Mario Galaxy** : Bowser did not take over the universe. Rosalina passed by the Mario World one day and Peach welcomed her. Since that day, Rosalina's Observatory now orbits around the Mario World. She participates in various sports and karting competition as well as watching over the world to protect it against meteors.

The concept of a drakoopa race was mostly from the fact that Bowser and the other koopas like him were much different compared to any other koopa species. As for the royal families' idea, besides Bowser and Junior, I made sure that no koopaling would be part of the same family. For the naming trend, here is how I proceeded:

Larry: athlean = athlete (to refer his interest in sport)

Morton: noctean = nocturne (his dark scales)

Wendy: beautean = beauty (she cares about it)

Iggy: mechean = mechanic (his passion in technology)

Roy: stylean = style (he has it)

Lemmy: acrean = acrobat (his favorite hobby)

Ludwig: musean = music (his taste in music)

Bowser and Junior: necrean = necromancy (their ability to revive and manipulate the death)

Their first true name, with the exception of Ludwig, Bowser and Junior, are longer and more sophisticated version of their actual name. As for the middle name, only including Larry, Iggy, Roy and Lemmy, I took names that started like their cartoon names:

Larry: Christopher = Cheatsy

Iggy: Howard = Hop

Roy: Bullsworth = Bully

Lemmy: Hitchcock = Hip

 **Larry**

In the **Nintendo Comics System,** Larry speaks with images. I wanted to use this concept but I had to think of something else so I decided that Larry would use sign language instead. He would use it at a young age because he was unable to speak and would use it later to communicate with other people that use sign language such as Mario and Link. Like in the comic, Lemmy can naturally understand him

His aggressive tendencies and little brother syndrome (before Junior's birth) come from his trophy description in **Super Smash Bros 4** and its different versions.

His gluttony comes from **Paper Mario: Color Splash** where he manages to eat a steak bigger than him and still be hungry. The idea of him liking to travel by train also comes from the same game.

His interest in bike and music as well as his business come from **Mario Kart 8** where he is the staff ghost of the Electrodrome, rides a sport bike and has a business called Larry Lights.

The three sports he practices are from the following games:

 **Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga** for tennis;

 **Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016** for equestrian;

 **Hotel Mario** for bowling (he throws bob-ombs like bowling balls).

He lives in Grassland and wields the orange wand like in most games particularly **Super Mario Bros 3**.

I read some Larry Koopa fanfics on the website that depicted him being very close to Junior (Special thanks to both FutureKing24 with The Promise and Matthais Unidostres with Super Koopaling's Galaxy) and I loved the idea. This inspired me into making Larry very overprotective of Junior at a point he would give his life to save Junior's.

His clothes from chapter 1-4 onward, along with Iggy and Ludwig, were inspired from a DevianArt drawing named "Danja, Danja, Danja, Danja" (Special thanks to Traversini who drew the art). There was also another drawing from the same artist but I can no longer find it.

Him knowing a martial art named Koop Fu was drawn from another DeviantArt drawing named "Larry Koopa Sketch Card" (Special thanks to Pembroke for the art). Him despising to be referred Cheatsy after Junior's birth also comes from the same drawing.

Cheatsy is his cartoon counterpart in the **Super Mario Super Show**. I first disliked the idea of making Larry a cheater and crooked character but as I progressed into the story I decided to give him a backstory where he used to work as a spy up until Junior was born, the reason why he quit. The Cheatsy character, on the other hand, would act like an inner demon that would mock Larry for caring for the others instead of him and would try to convince him to give up everyone and rule over Amarioca instead. While I was thinking of how to write Larry, I did not want him to be too idealistic or an anti-hero like Wario. I instead wanted to make something more unique so I decided to take his virtues and push them to the extreme at a point they become vices. Like that, he becomes so selfless that he completely excludes himself while making decision and neglects himself because he cannot forgive himself for what he did before Junior was born. He also becomes so caring for the others that he gets very overprotective of his family since it is what little he has as a family.

 **MOM**

For the villain of the story, a few candidates were considered before I ended up creating my own characters. The first idea was Cackletta and Fawful but when I realized that they were from the world instead of space I dropped the idea right away. The second idea was Smithy but was also dropped. The third and last idea was Tatanga but I decided to use him as a supporting character instead.

For the characters I created, I inspired myself from **Metroid**. Kraig, Riley and MOM are counterparts to Kraid, Ridley and Mother Brain respectively.

Kraig was meant to be more aggressive than shown in the story but I changed that because I did not have many ideas with this concept. I instead went for a more reclosed and timid personality.

MOM was first a brain in a machine like the inspiration but I changed her into an AI instead for a plot twist.

Riley's character is a mix of Kefka from **Final Fantasy VI** for being hysterical and sadistic as well as Berkut from **Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia** due to him obsessing over power and mocking his foes.

 **Prologue and Act 1**

I did not want to make it too obvious that the koopalings would be Bowser's children in the prologue so I avoided using any family-related nouns until Chapter 1-2 where, after the incident, Larry would meet the first person that knew about Bowser having more than one child. Only royalties and a few non-royalties know that the koopalings are Bowser's children.

The idea of Larry falling asleep and waking up in a different world came from **The Walking Dead** where the main character, Rick Grimm, falls into a coma and wakes up in a post-apocalyptic world.

The use of memories came from **The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wilds**. The memories are used to establish his relationship with his siblings, the tension between Bowser and Kamek as well as his first time with important characters.

The trial was an idea from **Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney** where Larry would first be accused of having destroyed Grassland. I wanted the reader to believe that Bowser was responsible for the incident at first until I revealed the culprit.

The toy box in chapter 1-4 refers **Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island**. Bowser only had Kamek in his life while the Mario brothers had the princesses.

Clawdia was first a joke started by an unspecified UK Nintendo magazine that stated she was Bowser's wife. This gave me the idea to explain why we never see Junior's mother. Like the source, Clawdia is mentioned only because she passed away after giving birth to Junior.

Since Starlow did not have much of an origin, I decided to make her a machine created by a group of intergalactic guardians known as the Stars where she would aid a chosen individual or group in a quest that seems to colossal without the aid of a star sprite.

 **Act 2**

I got the idea of Larry having a dream at the beginning of every act while I was playing **Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic** where the main character of the game would dream of a Stargate map found on the planet he would travel to.

Originally, the fanfic was meant to be classed as a "Mario X Game-X-Over" one but since the time in those alternate dimensions " **Animal Crossing** and **The Legend of Zelda** " were incredibly short I decided to simply class it as a standard Mario one. I also realized that the website does not mix up the regular Mario ones with the Mario crossover ones so it kind of upset me when I could not find my story while browsing the Mario fanfics.

Since shyguys wear masks, it would make sense that there would barely be any casualties caused by the dry infection since their mask filters the blue gas.

The scene where Larry is fighting the soldier guys on the tank was an idea I got when I just visited my mother while she was watching **Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade**. The movie was at the tank scene when I arrived.

For Morton's character, I did a mix where he can speak normally (in public) and where he chose to speak in a simplistic and crude way (among his family). His dialogue varies in the games.

 **Act 3**

Geno's introduction is similar to his in-game appearance where he first struggles to adapt to his new body.

A guest who chose to refer himself as Catdragon123 (Special thanks to you if you are reading this) posted a comment on my story proposed me some ideas for Act 3 to 5. This came at the perfect time because I just ended Act 2 and had little ideas for some of the later acts. For this act, I took the idea of Larry fighting a dry blooper in an underwater palace.

The song Birdo sings in chapter 3-3 is named "The whole new world" and is from **Phantasy Star Online** , one of my favorite game franchises.

Riley was not meant to appear in the story until much later. In fact, he would only appear in act 8 and some paralogues. I decided to introduce him the reader earlier to show how he treats his foes.

 **Act 4**

From our guest Catdragon123, he gave me the idea of having the wiggler population threatened by an army. I did not take SMORG because I was writing a story without using **Paper Mario** exclusive characters. So, I opted for King Boo and his minions instead and like that I could develop his character a lot more than I thought I would.

For being immortal, King Boo believes that the Mario World should be his. After his downfall from the Koopa Kingdom, he chose to target Woodland to have a control on technologies that could be dangerous to his people.

The Grassland/Hills Devil that Larry tells a story to the inklings in chapter 4-2 is a parody of the Jersey/Leeds Devil.

While I was writing this act, I was also playing a game named **Deus Ex** which gave me some ideas for Larry's character for this act and act 5.

I also felt that chapter 4-3 was kind of short and lacking in content so I introduced a new character, Cheatsy, which only Larry would be able to see and hear. This character would try to mock Larry and convince him to give up his family and friends and become the new Koopa King and would only reveal his true identity much later.

While I was writing the summary (when I started the story), I did not remember that Luigi was also a main character and saved Mario twice in **Mario is Missing** and **Luigi's Mansion**. Therefore, I overlooked including him before our guest gave me some ideas. I had to come up with a reason why Luigi could not be the hero of the story. Maybe having him being scarred by Riley was a bit too much.

Dry Bowser was planned to show up alone in chapter 4-4 but since I started using Riley in the story I decided to have him present Dry Bowser directly to Larry.

 **Act 5**

This was the last act I got some ideas from our guest by reminding me of Lakithunder. This helped to restructure chapter 5-3 entirely as Lakithunder would now be posing as Roy with a technology that would allow him to take his appearance.

This was the hardest act to write in term of rating (K, K+, T or M). For some odd reason, I decided to inspire myself from an indie game named **Lisa** for this act. Since the game can get very gory and disturbing, I have to tone those two down to keep it as light-hearted as possible while still showing the disturbing aspects drawn from the game.

The idea was because I found Roy to have similar traits with one of the game character, Buzzo. Most of his speech, actions and personality in Larry's dream were taken from the game as well as him being too powerful for Larry to beat like his game counterpart.

The augmented vision joke in chapter 5-1 is a reference to **Deus Ex** where an agent asks the main character, JC Denton, if he will really wear sunglasses during a night operation to which JC replies "My vision is augmented.".

While I was browsing DeviantArt one day, I found a drawing named "What's Tatanga been doing?" (Special thanks to LalalaKirby for the art) depicting Tatanga disguised as a Lakitu. This gave me the idea of having him being introduced in the story.

Tatanga's physical depiction is based on his appearance in the manga **Super Mario (Kodansha manga)** Instead of the **Game Boy** comic or his arts from the games. The red eyes and his introductory pose were because I thought that he looked a bit like the main character from **Jersey Devil** (yes, there is indeed a game named like that).

Buzzo from **Lisa** has a gang but his members are dismembered. For the Roy imposter's gang, I toned it down once again to just have the members being injured instead. I kept the "smiley mask" trend with scarves.

Roy's quotes before and right after being freed come from Big Smoke in **Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas**. Part of his farewell quote is from John Cena's theme.

 **Act 6**

This was the hardest chapter to write in content. Since the guest only gave me some ideas for the five previous acts and I had little ideas for this act, I had to struggle to come up with a lot.

I decided to use Geno's issue (explained in chapter 5-2) to add some text in chapter 6-1 and have Starlow argue with both him and Larry. I then brought back up Kamek to give the characters something to do before heading to Iceland.

Yes, I shipped Tatanga with Rosalina. What did you expect? A fanfic is not one if there is no shipping, does not have an exaggerated amount of explicit content or is not edgy. Note that I also shipped Larry with Isabelle for some reasons.

The statue in the Iceland Palace, chapter 6-4, is a reference to the Bittercold in **Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity**.

The song Junior sings at the end of act 6 is "Can still see the light", another song from **Phantasy Star Online**.

 **Act 7**

Some of Petey Piranha's quotes are from the movie **The Room**. Him being found in the Triforce World is due to the similarities between piranha plants and deku babas.

For the Pipeland government, while I started writing this act, I was looking at a game named **Papers, Please** which gave me the idea of turning Pipeland into a totalitarian society with strict border rules.

The two songs Ludwig sings in chapter 7-4 do not come from anywhere. I however drew inspiration from the Phantom in **Mario + Rabbid: Kingdom Battle** to write them. The finale where Larry accidently stabs Ludwig, seen both at the beginning and near the end of act 7, is a reference to a scene in **Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia**.

 **Act 8**

The melody sung in both Chapter 8-1 and 8-4 is the Eight Melodies from **Mother/Earthbound Zero**

Chapter 8-3 was the hardest chapter to write in term of rating where I would finally reveal Cheatsy and make him swear a lot to highlight how much Larry is afraid of himself.

The quote after Larry punches Cheatsy, along with the five ones right before Cheatsy gets infected, is a rework of some of Dagoth Ur's quotes from **The Elder Scroll III: Morrowind.** The two quotes after that are from **Deux Ex** where Walton Simons, one of the main antagonists, tells JC that he will always track him down to which JC replies with a slightly more sweary variation than Larry replied to Cheatsy.

When many characters beg Larry to return in the Mario World to save it, this was an inspiration from both **Fire Emblem Awakening** and **Fire Emblem Fates** (Birthright and Conquest paths).

The lyrics at the end of Act 8 are from the song À Tout le Monde by Megadeath.

The ceremony was because I love the credit scene in **Pilotwings**.

The song at the end of the story is Heritors of Arcadia from **Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia**.

And special thanks to you, reader, for having read all of this and the paralogues but there is one more thing…


	10. Paralogue 8

**Paralogue 8: What Comes After Tomorrow?**

Following the restoration of the Mario World, Kraig checked on the other worlds that were linked to this one. He remembered that, a few days before the incident, Riley was talking about a technology that linked two or more worlds together. This worried Kraig and he wanted to make sure there were not affected by the virus. To his surprise, they were not. Or perhaps they used to be but something restored those worlds too. To think that these worlds also had their plans in such event, Kraig was amazed but he remembered that only the Mario World was aware of an attack. In fact, if he still used to work for MOM, Kraig would have to wait after Riley to want to visit those planets before he would sneak out and warn the inhabitants.

Afterward, Kraig left those worlds and drifted into space with a ship he rented, unknown what to do now. He never imagined he would get so much freedom in his life. He gave up on that dream a long time ago when he was forced to witness the bad deeds MOM would perform and have the truth hidden from him. One day, a ship from the Space Federation intercepted him and took him aboard. Kraig had his fears when he entered the other ship. He thought that he would be jailed for being affiliated with MOM. To his surprise, the Space Federation offered him a job. Kraig knew that Riley would want him to take it so he obliged. It was not before the Space Federation had to check his background to make sure he did not have a criminal record. The next day, Kraig started his first day at work and made new friends. With his knowledges, he managed to innovate in different domains.

A week passed. It was the big day on the Mario World and Kraig was invited by his new friends to attend the meeting and the party at Peach's castle after but the crocodile refused saying that he wanted to establish himself on a planet first. During the week, he lived in the ship that intercepted him. The one he rented was returned to the owner and he was given his own ship. Kraig chose to move to a snowy planet in a galaxy far away from the Mario World.

It was nighttime. Kraig was ready to go to bed. He looked through the window. The vast snowy plains with its mountains had their white mixed up with the night's deep blue. The wind created some gently small snow vortexes. Kraig liked the effects he witnessed. It would be his next hobby: study the wind. Studying in general had always been a passion for him. While he looked at the exterior, a boxy silhouette that just entered the planet's atmosphere caught his attention. It landed on the snow, creating a small shockwave that sent some snow flying away. The silhouette changed form and another one was born from it, a smaller one. It emitted a light and waved it around. Kraig was not sure what the new visitor was doing. The silhouette approached Kraig's new house. Once close enough, the silhouette slowly became purple. Kraig could not believe it. He took his coat and left his house by the backdoor. He ran toward the silhouette. The snow made it harder for him to run. Even if he was tall, the snow still engulfed a nice chunk of his legs. Anyone smaller would sink into it. When he got to the silhouette, he recognized Riley. The latter was wearing rackets which allowed him to walk on snow without sinking. He was also wearing a coat, with the hood covering his head, and goggles.

"Hey! It's been a long time, bro! How are you doing!?" Riley greeted.

"Riley!? Don't tell me you escaped!" Kraig said back.

He was not mad that his little brother was here even if the latter was supposed to be in jail. In fact, Kraig was very happy to see him here. He picked up his brother and hugged him.

"I had to, Kraig. I had to make sure you were doing fine one last time…" Riley whispered.

"You should care more about yourself, bro. Now that you're out, what are you gonna do? The space pirates aren't around anymore and if you show up publicly you'll be thrown back into jail."

"I already thought about that. I'm gonna become a bounty hunter, just like how I used the title to scare the little punk. As for MOM and her space pirates, I doubt they're gone for good."

"What do you mean? Their ship is gone."

"MOM's an AI. This was just a front for her. She must be operating from elsewhere and I must stop her. If she's still around, she'll obviously try to track us down and I can't afford to have her get at you."

"I can defend myself, bro. I joined the Space Federation. They'll protect me and I'll help them stop her."

"Ah! That's so ironically funny. You first lied to Larry about being a member and look at you! You're now one!"

"How did you find me?"

"My ship had a tracker and I found your name in the list but I had to disable it to prevent anyone to follow me. You must have made many friends while I was gone."

"Yeah…"

Kraig put his little brother back on the snow. THey slowly walked toward the ship. It was Tatanga's ship. Riley stole it when it was still being fixed in Skyland.

"So, what's your plan to find MOM?" Kraig asked.

"I won't find her. She'll find me. I'll attract as much attention as I can and she'll notice me."

They finally got to the ship. Riley looked back at his big brother one last time.

"Before I leave, I have something to give you." Riley started as he searched in his coat.

He pulled out a toy spaceship that he gave to Kraig. The latter was surprised to see his favorite toy again. He shredded a tear and looked back at his little brother who was already in his ship starting the engine. When Kraig started moving, Riley already lifted off. Kraig could not even thank him in person. It did not matter for him though. Riley must have already wasted enough time to find him and the little brother had to make sure no one would hunt him down. He looked back at the toy spaceship and he held it close to his heart. He closed his eyes.

"You really are the best… Thank you… For everything…" He simply whispered.

 **THE END**


End file.
